A New Life
by PrajnaK
Summary: After he finds her for the third time, Serena is losing all faith in the Witness Protection Program. Starting her new life as Liliana Avery, she wonders how long it will be until he finds her again. Will she be able to escape a fourth time?
1. A Black Cat

_**Disclaimer (For all Chapters - duh)**: I don't own Sailor Moon – if I did, I highly doubt I would have written this fanfic._

_I hope you all enjoy this story!_

_Please **Review!**_

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_**Prologue** - A New Life  
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Serena walked into her new apartment followed closely by Agent Amara Tenohsin. It was truly a huge space for someone of her size, but the furnishings were beautiful and Serena could see where she could put the personal touches to make it her own. She sighed as she set the last of her things down and sat on the couch.

Agent Tenohsin walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You know how to reach me if you need to. Is there anything else you need before I leave?"

Serena shook her head. "Thank you so much for everything."

Agent Tenohsin nodded. "I will contact you when the date of the trial has been decided. You will find your class schedule, Identification, new birth certificate and everything else on the coffee table." She watched Serena nod and stare blankly at all of the paperwork. Amara didn't normally get close with those put under her care, but over the course of moving this girl and helping her transition to her new life, she couldn't help but feel a certain pull towards her. From what Amara gathered in talking with the other agent Serena had before her and after seeing the condition Serena was in after the last attack, Amara knew she had gone through more than most and still had so much to face. "Promise me that you will call me if there is anything you need… Even if it's just to talk."

Serena looked up at the woman that she had gotten to know over the past 2 weeks and smiled, "I promise."

Amara smiled back and let herself out of the apartment. Once she heard the door shut, Serena leaned forward and picked up her new driver's license and looked at the name next to her picture. Liliana Avery was who she was from this day forth… At least it was a beautiful name this time, much better than the last one she was stuck with. Brooke Maguile… She never grew fond of that name, but she supposed it was better than ending up in a ditch somewhere with no name.

Serena got up from the couch and wandered out onto her balcony overlooking the city. She idly stroked her long blonde hair as she leaned over the railing, wondering how long she would be here until he found her. No matter how many precautions they took, he always seemed to find her. It seemed like a hopeless race Serena found herself closer and closer to losing.

For the first time in a very long time she let herself cry. Her hands slid down the bars as her knees found the concrete. Her world turned black as she cried herself into another world full of limitless nightmares.

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**Chapter 1** - A Black Cat

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_She was thrown back against the wall and slid to the floor. "I'm sorry! Please, stop… Please."_

_"What have you told them?" _

_ She opened her eyes wide enough to see a hand swinging towards her face._

There was a deafening crash before Serena screamed and sat up straight. She was breathing heavily as she reached up and put her hand to her cheek only to find it wet. She soon felt a drop on her arm and looked up to see a flash of lightning shoot across the sky followed shortly by another loud crash.

Most people, including the old Serena, would have gone indoors to escape the oncoming storm. However, over the years, Serena came to believe that the rain was purifying her soul – for every time it rained, she felt so peaceful. An emotion that was very rare for Serena to feel nowadays. She pulled her knees close to her chest and closed her eyes as the cool drops embraced her – falling closer and closer together until she was encased in a protective stream of rain.

Serena smiled a true Serena-smile towards the sky. As her worries were washed away with the rain, a certain sense of relief overcame her. She stayed like that for a long time before she finally stood and leaned once more over the railing. When she looked down to the street below, there was a sight that took Serena a moment to comprehend. On the sidewalk there was a crescent-shaped light with a black shape in the middle. She looked up towards the street lamp to realize that the wind must have blown something against it to conceal part of the light, creating the crescent-shaped light she was seeing. She looked back down at the sidewalk and saw the small shape in the middle of the light move. On closer inspection, she realized that in the light, out in this pouring rain, was a black kitten.

"Oh my gosh!" Serena immediately ran back through her apartment, down three flights of stairs and out through the lobby. She waved at the manager that she met briefly earlier and dashed through the rotating doors and out into the rain once more. She waited for a car to pass by before she crossed the road to approach the kitten. It meowed up at her and slowly walked towards her before stopping, always remaining within the crescent-shaped light of the streetlamp. Serena bent down and picked up the shivering kitten. She held the poor thing close to her as she hurried to get back inside and out of the rain.

Ken, the apartment manager, met her at the door with a towel. "What on Earth were you doing out there in this weather? You could catch a cold!" He wrapped the towel around her shoulders and was about to get onto her again about being out in this kind of weather when she opened her arms to reveal the kitten.

"I couldn't leave it out there! It looked so miserable!"

On seeing the kitten, Ken immediately fetched another towel and handed it to Serena who then wrapped the kitten tightly in it and smiled as she heard the kitten purring.

"No, you most certainly couldn't leave it out there. It's supposed to rain throughout the night – I'm sure the kitten will be happy with a roof over its head. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know, I haven't checked yet," She looked down at the kitten in her arms, "What I'm about to do is nothing personal…" Ken tried to keep a straight face as Serena pulled back the towel and peeked between the kitten's legs.

"Congratulations, it's a girl! Are you going to keep her?"

Serena and the kitten stared at each other for a long time before she looked up at Ken, "She's so precious… I'd really like to keep her. I never anticipated on having a pet, so I didn't think to ask what the pet policy was."

"The pet policy is at the manager's discretion, and seeing as I'm the manager – I approve." Only a few of his tenants were allowed to keep pets and most of them because they were able to pay a significant, and refundable, advanced payment in case the pets damaged the apartment. Ken didn't know much at all about the girl standing before him, after all he only met her earlier that day, but from what he did know a look in this girl's eyes told him she needed a companion. If this little furball could give her even half of the comfort that his own cats gave him and his family, he would consider it a worthwhile investment in letting her keep it.

The smile on her face and the sincere happiness he saw in her eyes was enough of a thank you, but she added to that when she launched herself in his arms to hug him – momentarily allowing him to see the girl hidden within. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Ken laughed and hugged her back. For some reason, he could tell that making this girl happy was going to quickly become a new mission in his life. "What will you name her? Blackie?" he paused at the funny expression on her face, "Or not…"

After raising an eyebrow at his suggestion, Serena said "Let's see, I found her in the rain, she's black…" Serena looked behind her, back out into the rain and across the street, "I found her in a crescent-shaped light…" She looked at the kitten in her arms, "Crescent? Hmm, no… I would probably end up calling you Crest for short and you don't look anything like toothpaste, at least no toothpaste I would want to use. Crescent Moon… Mooncat… Moonie… Selena…" after a moment of thinking about that name, she decided it was simply too close to her own. "No… Gato de la Luna… Oh! How about, Luna?" A high-squeaked meow from the kitten confirmed the choice.

"I think she likes it," Ken said trying not to laugh at her method of coming up for names.

"I think so, too. Okay, Luna it is." Serena smiled down at the kitten, excited to have her. She knew she would have to ask Agent Tenohsin before it could be official, but she was fully prepared to beg.

Ken broke the silence. "Liliana, was it?" Serena looked at him blankly for a brief moment before nodding. "Now that you have her taken care of, go upstairs and get yourself dried off, the last thing we want is for you to get sick."

Serena smiled up at Ken. He was probably in his early-to-mid fifties and had the kindest eyes she had ever seen. She could tell immediately that she was going to love it here and refused to acknowledge the thought that popped into her mind wondering how long she would actually be able to stay. After thanking him, she walked back up the stairs. She always took the stairs when she could because it was better for her. She almost laughed when she remembered the things she used to eat. How she stayed thin she will never know.

As she walked up the last flight of stairs she smiled sadly. So many years ago… she turned 22 only a few months before. Fortunately, the school year had just started when he found her so if she studied hard she could get caught up in the classes she transferred into.

Serena was so deep in thought that she barely had the mindset to step aside in time before the door opening could whack her in the face. She looked up and swore she was looking into a mirror.

"Oh, pardon me!" The girl in front of her paused, also seeming to notice the similarities between them. "Not many people use the stairs so I don't even think to open the door slowly! Are you all right? I'm Mina."

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I'm Lily," Serena smiled, immediately noticing Mina's British accent. She was brought out of her thoughts by a soft meow. "Oh! I'm sorry – This is Luna."

Mina squealed at how cute the kitten was and scratched behind her ears while she listened to the story of how Serena rescued her and was going to keep her. "Oh, the poor thing! We just have to introduce her to my fur-baby, Artemis!" Serena laughed at the term 'fur-baby' and agreed. "Since you just got her, you probably don't have any kitty litter or food, do you?" Serena shook her head and noticed Mina look down at her watch. "Come on, I'll give you some of mine." She gestured for Serena to follow her and walked back through the door. "Which apartment are you in?"

Serena had to think for a moment, but finally responded, "I'm in 328."

"Oh, we're right down the hall from each other. This is me! Miss. 324." She unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by a white cat that looked to still be in his kitten stage as well. "This is Artemis. Artemis, say hello to Lily and Luna. Ha! Say that 5 times fast." (_AN: Admit it, you started to try and say it, didn't you?)_ Artemis brushed against Serena's leg and Serena bent down to let Artemis sniff Luna. Artemis was quick to start purring and begin to lick Luna's head.

"Oh, Mina, look!" Mina poked her head out of her closet and let out an 'Aww!' before retrieving a small bag of food and kitty litter.

"This should last you until you are able to get to the store."

"I really appreciate this Mina, thank you."

"Not a prob!"

Serena said bye to Artemis before walking back out into the hallway with Mina.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I was just heading to volleyball practice that's fortunately indoors! We should hang out sometime though!" Serena opened her mouth to respond but Mina spoke again, "Oh, I can stop by after practice and take you to the coffee shop down the street – they make the BEST coffee! Oh - and not to mention the guy who works there is almost as delicious as the food!"

Serena laughed. This girl was quickly reminding her of who she used to be and it felt nice to be reminded of the good times in her life. "It sounds like fun."

"See ya around 8!" Mina practically skipped down the hall and Serena continued on to her apartment. Once inside, she set Luna down on the floor and went to the box labeled 'Kitchen'. She tore it open and retrieved a large food container and two bowls. She filled the container with kitty litter and one of the bowls with food. She giggled when Luna chased after her to the kitchen while she filled the other bowl with water. When she set the bowls down, Luna promptly dove into the food.

"You must have been so hungry!" She went to the living room and opened a box labeled 'Bedroom'. She dug through until she found the heating pad and plugged it in near Luna's food. She put some towels over it and headed for the bathroom, looking forward to a nice, long, hot shower before she subjected herself to the process of unpacking. Again.

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_Who is after Serena? What happened four years ago to put her in this predicament? Find out in the next chapter!  
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_Please R&R! _

_I would like to know what you think of all my chapters, not just the story :)  
_


	2. The Beginning

_Enjoy!_

_ Please R&R! (Reviews are begged for)_

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**Chapter 2 -** The Beginning  


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Serena let the warm water of the shower run over her. She stretched her neck from side to side as she sighed. She really wished this could all be over. What had she gotten herself into? Chase Diamond was relentless. He wouldn't stop and with his well-paid lawyers constantly having a paperwork-war with the FBI, Chase had managed to keep putting off his trial date. Agent Amara Tenohsin and Agent Michelle Kaioun were her only friends and family at this point.

She had grown very close to Michelle since she was pulled into the Witness Protection Program four years before, and because of that close relationship and how events unfolded two weeks ago, Amara quickly became very protective of her. Serena had never seen a picture of Amara and all she gathered from Michelle's descriptions was that she was tall and beautiful. So obviously awkwardness insued when Amara turned out to be more like tall, handsome, incredibly masculine and, well... downright sexy. Serena had embarrassingly thought she was a man and quite honestly still had trouble referring to Amara as a 'she'.

Over the past two weeks, in getting to know each other, the three of them formed a very close bond. Amara was quick to volunteer her services when plans were made to transfer her somewhere new. Serena wasn't very hopeful though because, although they had no idea how, he always kept finding her. She sighed as she sat down in the tub under the stream of water and closed her eyes.

**~*~*~**_**Four years before**_**~*~*~**

Serena was in the kitchen making dinner. She brushed her tears away from her face with her arm as she put more vegetables into the soup. When she moved to the side to start cutting carrots she winced and put a hand to comfort the pain in her stomach. She looked at her bruised reflection in the mirror behind the stove and sighed as she started to cut the carrots. Her entire body tensed when she heard the front door open.

"Beautiful? I'm home." She heard him set his bag down on the table and his footsteps falling closer and closer to the kitchen. "Mm, that smells good." She closed her eyes tightly and gripped the counter when he came behind her and kissed her neck. "I have a surprise for you." He turned her around and presented her with a small box.

"What is this??"

"It's a way to try and make up for the misunderstanding yesterday. I felt so bad about it, I figured you would like this." He opened up the box for her to reveal an absolutely gorgeous two-toned bracelet.

"Oh, Chase! It's beautiful!" He took it out of the box and gently took her hand. It was the perfect fit around her petite wrist. She rotated her hand and saw how the kitchen light reflected off of it.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!" She looked up at him and saw his smiling face and his eyes full of love. "Thank you, so much."

"It barely makes up for…" His words trailed off as his hand came to brush the bruise on her face. "I promise it won't happen again. Yesterday was just stressful and you forgot to put on the calendar that you had a study group. I was just so worried."

She smiled softly up at him. "I know Chase, and I really am sorry. I told you last week but it completely slipped my mind to put it on the calendar so it would remind you of where I would be. I didn't mean to worry you." She looked down at her bracelet and back up at him. "It's so beautiful."

"Not half as beautiful as you are." He smiled when she blushed and he leaned down to kiss her. He felt her turn her head and let the tiniest cry escape from her when he kissed over a cut on her lip and pulled back. He looked down and gently kissed the cut he had put there.

His tenderness was so touching. She knew what happened last night was an accident and mostly her fault for causing him to worry. She turned back around to finish cutting the carrots and felt him squeeze her waist affectionately before he walked off to change out of his suit.

The following day was the day that changed her life. She wasn't even supposed to be home, but she had skipped her last class to work on a project that was due the next day. She was in the spare bedroom working diligently when she heard the front door slam shut. She sighed thinking he must have had another bad day at work. He had an important meeting and it must not have gone as he had hoped. She stood up to go console him. If only she knew what was about to happen.

When she got into the hallway she heard Chase talking to other men. She paused to listen. She recognized the voice of his best friend, Mark Sapphire, but the others she didn't know. She was about to walk into the living room when she heard a loud smack and a heavy thud. Her heart pounded as she squatted down behind the hallway table and peered around so she could see what was happening.

She saw Chase standing over three men in the living room and Mark standing by the door. Chase leaned down and gripped the hair of one of the men and whispered something she couldn't make out before he brought the man's head down on his knee. Her eyes went wide. She could barely breathe. She heard Chase say something about the police questioning him about the officers he killed and that he had it set up so he wouldn't have been tied to it. Her heart felt like it lurched into her throat. He yelled at the men on the floor and on closer scrutiny she realized they had already been beaten badly before they got to the apartment. They weren't even voicing their pain anymore as Chase handed out his beatings.

"Who told them and what did you say?!" He circled the group on the ground and pulled out a knife. Serena let out a gasp before she covered her mouth with her hand. Chase, in his anger, fortunately did not hear her but the ever vigilant Mark did. He looked in her direction and their eyes met. Mark, while he always did as Chase said and was his right-hand man, didn't want her harmed and many times he brought Chase's attention away from her to prevent her from anything further. His eyes went wide as he went from her frightened eyes to Chase. He looked back at her and slowly raised his hand and put a finger to his lips indicating her to be quiet. She nodded and turned her head just in time to see Chase stab the first man. Once more and the man fell silent to the ground. Something in her just knew he was dead.

Tears were streaming down her face as he questioned the other two but they had no more to say to him than the first did. As much as she wanted to she could not take her eyes away from seeing two more men being brutally murdered before her. Try as she might, she could not withhold the whimper that escaped from her lips. Chase's head snapped towards the hallway and she saw Mark's eyes close tightly in the realization that she had been discovered.

Chase stalked to the hallway to discover Serena huddled behind the table and before she knew what was happening he yanked her to her feet by her hair and push her into the wall with his weight against her. "What did you see?!" He grasped her shirt with his hands and, with all of his force, flung her into the opposite wall. The back of her head hit the wall and she lost her vision momentarily after the impact. Before she could completely regain her posture, the back of his hand met with her cheek and forced her body into the living room. She landed face-to-face with the first man Chase had killed. She screamed and backed away as quickly as she could.

"You didn't see anything, did you!?" Without waiting for an answer from her he grabbed her hair again to get her away from the couch and hauled her to her feet.

"Please, Chase – stop." He pushed her body down and her already bruised stomach met with his knee. Her body was a heap against the hallway wall.

"Tell me you saw nothing!" When she coughed instead of responded he grabbed a glass vase from the hallway table. With a grunt he heaved it at her crumpled body. She had enough mind to cover her face before it hit her and she screamed as the glass cut her skin. The next thing she knew was she was being dragged through the glass on the carpet by her wrist and into the living room.

"Nothing! I didn't see anything!" After managing to get that out, all she had left in her was a whimper. There was a long pause as she heard him breathing heavily above her and then heard him let out an angry yell and was about to kick her in the stomach when Mark spoke up for the first time.

"Chase! Enough with her! We have to get rid of the bodies." Serena knew better than to move or make a sound to bring any attention back to her. Chase grumbled and walked away from Serena. Mark took the shoulders of one and Chase took the feet. They left the room and came in two more times and all Serena could do was lay there. The next thing she felt was a comforting hand resting on her shoulder.

"Serena, it's best if you're out of sight when he gets back in. Are you seriously hurt?" He looked her over and helped her to her feet. She had to lean heavily on him as he helped her to the bathroom. "I'll bring in the first aid kit so you can get cleaned up." Mark left and returned a moment later with everything she would need. He brushed her hair out of her tear-stained face. They heard the front door open and Mark made a quick exit and shut the bathroom door.

Serena looked at herself in the mirror. She slowly took her shirt off, wincing as the fabric brushed against the glass in her skin. She got out as much as she could before getting into the shower to wash the blood off. The blood came off but try as she might she couldn't wash away the vision of the men being killed nor comprehend what it is that just happened.

**~*~*~**_**Present**_**~*~*~**

Serena opened her eyes and realized she had been crying. She reached forward to change the water to cold and turned her face up to let it wash away her tears. After a moment she stood up, turned off the water and grabbed her towel to dry off. She towel-dried her hair and then wrapped herself in the warmth of her robe. She retreated to her bedroom and opened up a box labeled 'Clothes'. Fortunately, she had them all neatly in the box still on their hangers so it only took her a moment to fit them into her large closet. After contemplating her options, she decided to wear her dark blue jeans and a baby blue t-shirt. After drying her hair she put it up into a loose ponytail and walked into the living room to find Luna sleeping peacefully on the heating pad. She smiled at how adorable she was.

Serena went to the closest box and started to unpack. She saved the smallest box for last and decided against opening it. She was having a wonderful day so far and wasn't about to let her past ruin it. She took the box, walked into her bedroom and slid it far under her bed. She was finally done – Not that she had much to unpack. She went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She downed the water and was about to set it down on the counter when she heard a hard knock on the door. Serena dropped the glass and didn't move as it shattered around her on the floor of the kitchen. Her heartbeat and breathing quickened as she stood frozen in place staring at the door.

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_Dun dun dun… Sorry if there are any typos. I just finished writing this and wanted to get it posted. It mostly gives a little background about what happened. Hope you liked it!_

_Please R&R! Hope to have Chapter 3 out soon. _

_Remember - The Emotions Law obligates you to review if you felt any emotions in this chapter!  
_


	3. Curse of the Meatball

_I wonder what would happen if I actually said I owned Sailor Moon… _

_Enjoy! Please R&R!_

*A deep voice announces*

"Previously, in Chapter 2…"

She went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She downed the water and was about to set it down on the counter when she heard a hard knock on the door. Serena dropped the glass and didn't move as it shattered around her on the floor of the kitchen. Her heartbeat and breathing quickened as she stood frozen in place staring at the door.

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**Chapter 3 **- Curse of the Meatball

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Serena stared at the door. She heard the knock again, this time a voice came with it. "Lily? Are you okay? It's Mina." Serena shook her head slightly to bring her back to reality, remembering that Mina said she would stop by after her practice. She looked down at the floor to see the glass and tried to find a way to get out of the kitchen without cutting her feet.

"Coming!" She yelled at the door while she contemplated her escape route. She finally decided on counter climbing. She lifted herself on top of the counter, over the bar and down into the living room. She made her way to the door and opened it to reveal a concerned Mina. "Hey, sorry – I didn't realize it was already 8!"

"What was that loud crash?"

"Oh, I was honing my super powers by making a glass float in mid-air and your knock broke my concentration. I guess that's something I need to work on…"

Mina just laughed at her explanation and walked into the apartment.

"Give me a moment to clean it up and we can go. Is it still raining?"

"Well, if that horrid women that walked right into me without apologizing wasn't melting, I would say it's not raining enough." At the look Serena gave her she blushed, "No, it's just sprinkling really."

Serena fetched a dust pan and knelt down to clean up the mess of glass. She looked behind her to see Mina on her knees petting Luna while she looked around the apartment. "It's beautiful! I don't see any boxes, have you unpacked already?"

Cleaning up the last of the glass, Serena responded without looking. "Yeah, I didn't have that much really."

"How come you don't have any pictures?" Serena dumped the glass in the kitchen trash and was fortunately hidden by the counters while she thought about the box hidden underneath her bed. Coming back in the room, she pretended that she hadn't heard Mina's question.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't hear you."

"Oh, I just asked why you didn't have any pictures up."

Serena just sighed. "Well, my parents passed away when I was young and I haven't really had that many friends because I move around so much. No real opportunity to take pictures." She had always used that excuse because it was the safest – it would explain the lack of pictures and she wouldn't have to come up with any specific stories. It wasn't that far from the truth. Her mother had died of cancer and shortly after her father died of a heart attack. She could only assume it was brought on by the stress over losing her mother. In all honesty her father and mother died only 5 years before and since she was so close to her 18th birthday, with some paperwork and coordination with the State, Chase was able to take her under his wing. She had been dating him for almost a year at that point and thought she knew what she was getting herself into.

On the subject of friends, that was something Serena never had a problem with. It's like wherever she went they swarmed in like bees as if she were made of honey. On one hand it was wonderful to have that many people around her but on the other hand it made it that much more difficult to be pulled away from that life. She couldn't wait until all of this was over and she could get back in touch with all of the people she had to walk away from… More like run away from.

Mina looked liked she felt horrible for having asked such a personal question and was met simply with a smile from Serena. "Don't worry, it happened a long time ago and to be honest I don't remember much about it." Serena grabbed her coat and they walked out the door. She turned back to Luna, "I'll be back in a little bit!" Serena locked the door and turned to Mina as they headed to the stairway. "So by you're accent, I assume you're from England?"

"Yep! Born and raised!"

"Where from?"

"Well, technically Fleetwood, but I tell everyone Blackpool because it's a larger city very close by and more people have heard of it."

Serena looked at her and smiled, "No way! My dad was in Blackpool a lot before I was born. My mother was sooo mad at him for not being there to get her food at 3 in the morning." Realizing what she said, her eyes went wide. Fortunately, Mina hadn't even noticed.

"Oh, awesome! What was he doing there?"

"Um… I'm not entirely sure, but I believe it had something to do with dancing."

"The ballroom dancing championships? My mum was in that! Do you know how to dance, too?"

Serena couldn't very well say her father had taught her because he was supposed to have passed away when she was little. "Only a little here and there, but like I said – my father passed away before he could teach me."

"Oh, how exciting! Well, except the part about your father… You will be attending UF, right?"

Serena faltered. "If that stands for the University of Florida, then yes." Mina made a funny face.

"Of course it does. Oh, this is so great! There's a Ballroom Dance club that meets every Wednesday night and there's a dance party on Fridays that goes on in Union. We can teach you, too! It will be so much fun! We can do it together!"

Serena smiled. "It sure sounds like fun, count me in. What other classes are you taking?"

"Oh, goodness." Mina waved her hand at Serena. "We can talk about all that boring stuff later. Let's go to Crown's!" Serena laughed as they opened the door into the lobby.

~*.*~

"Dad, does Mina have a sister?"

Ken kept his eyes on what he was doing while he answered his son, "I don't believe so, Sammy. Why?"

"Then who is that with her?" Sammy asked.

Ken raised his eyes to see above the rims of his glasses the two girls walking through the lobby. He had to think about it himself for a moment as the two girls before him looked so similar. "No, that is Liliana. She actually moved in just today." He lifted his head and smiled at them as they walked by. "Hello, ladies! Glad to see you dry, Ms. Liliana. Is Luna settling in?"

"Oh, she's very happy! When I left she was peacefully curled up on a heating pad. Thanks so much again!"

Ken smiled, "It was my pleasure!" He turned when he felt the presence of his son next to him. "Liliana, I would like you to meet my son, Sammy. He's the night manager here so if there's anything you need afterhours, he's the person you need to see."

Serena smiled at him and reached out her hand to shake his. He was quite a bit taller than she was, with sandy blonde hair and tanned skin. She would guess he was around 18 or 19 and looked to be just as sweet as his father. "It's nice to meet you!" He nodded his head and smiled back at her in return.

"Where are you ladies off to?" Ken asked.

"Oh, I was just off to show her Crown's down the street!" Mina piped up.

"You were going to show her Crown's or the boy that works there?" Sammy couldn't help but throwing that in and a blush crept on Mina's cheeks as she saw Ken nudge his son with his elbow and send him a look of disapproval. A huge grin spread on Sammy's face. He had known Mina for a year now and while she was older than he was, they had a brother-sister bond and he couldn't help but hassle her when the opportunity arose.

Mina recovered and stuck her tongue out at Sammy as she intertwined her arm with Serena's and started walking. "Night, Mr. T!" Serena had enough time to wave back at them before she was pulled through the door.

"They seem nice!"

"Oh, yes. Mr. T is an amazing man. He took me under his wing when I moved here from England and Sammy is an obnoxious little creature that's unnecessarily taking up oxygen, but at the same time you can't help but adore him." She sighed, "It's a losing battle because both sides balance each other out."

Serena laughed. It sounded as if Mina thought of Sammy as her little brother. They reached Crown's in no time as it was, quite literally, right down the street. When they got inside, Mina stepped in front of Serena with her back towards the counter. "Didn't I tell you? That's Andrew! So yummy, right?" Serena peeked around Mina's shoulder to see a very handsome man, probably in his mid-twenties, with brown hair and adorable freckles.

Serena's eyes went wide. He was definitely attractive. She watched as he elegantly put whip cream on top of a pie and take a cherry to place on top of it. She closed her eyes and she found herself on a beach with him as he was bringing a whip cream-covered cherry to her mouth. The cherry touched her lips and-

"LILY!"

Her eyes snapped open to see Mina's face right in front of hers. "What?" Mina's eyes narrowed and looked back and forth from Serena's dazed expression to Andrew innocently putting another cherry on another pie. She slowly brought her head back to Serena's face and pointed to Andrew.

"Mine!"

"Okay, okay. He's yours. Not a problem, Andrew equals Mina. Got it."

Mina watched her suspiciously for a second before nodding, "That's right," and walking towards the counter.

Serena giggled and followed Mina. If she had been paying attention she would have realized she's acting like the Serena she was forced to leave behind so many years ago.

Mina plopped down on one of the stools. "Hiya, Andrew! This is Lily. She just moved in down the hall from me!"

Andrew glanced up briefly and then looked up again to stare. He blinked a few times before he noticed the subtle differences between the two girls and then shook his head. "Gosh, for a second there I thought there were two Mina's. If that had been the case, I was going to give up all hope on the world." Mina blushed and tried to hide it by covering her face with a hand as she laughed sarcastically. His attention turned towards Serena and he smiled, "It's nice to meet you. Can I get you lovely ladies anything to eat or drink?"

"I shall have the triple chocolate ice cream shake with a shot of espresso, mixed with caramel and sprinkles!"

Serena looked at Mina with her eyes wide. Minus the espresso, that was exactly what Serena ordered at the arcade where she used to live. She turned back to Andrew, "I would like the same thing but hold the espresso."

Andrew looked at them, "You guys look the same and you order the same… If that means you act the same, I think I should be scared."

Mina waved him off while she mock-glared. "Oh, go make yourself useful!"

When Andrew came back with the drinks he put them down on the counter in front of them. "So, Lily, where did you move from?"

Serena delayed responding while she took a long sip from her drink and thought about her answer. She finally decided about telling him where she was before last. "I came from Texas." She was saved from elaborating when Andrew was called away to another table.

Mina leaned in close and whispered privately, "Is everything really… bigger there?"

Serena found herself blushing this time. "Mina!"

Mina sat back up, "Hey, my mum told me that there is no such thing as a stupid question."

"Well, go ask your mother that question and I think she might reconsider."

Mina's demeanor instantly changed and she just gave Serena a half smile before sipping her drink. "Mina, what's wrong?"

"Oh, well… My mum passed away a little over a year ago."

Serena's hand went to her mouth. "Oh, Mina I'm so sorry!"

Mina smiled at her again, "It's no biggie. You didn't know."

"That's why you moved to the states then?"

Mina nodded, "Yeah, a cousin that I was really close to as a child goes to college here. Since I didn't have any family left in England, I figured I would come here to spend my time with her. I'll introduce you to her on Monday - her name is Molly and I'm sure you will just love her."

"I can't wait to meet her!" Serena smiled. The next few things happened in quick procession of each other. She heard someone enter Crown's, she felt something heavy and messy hit the back of her head and stick there, then she heard a child giggle and Mina stifle a laugh as she glanced over at the ankle-biter that had decided to play with his food instead of eat it.

"Ma'am, are you aware that you have a meatball on your head?" Serena looked behind her and wasn't expecting at all what she found. She looked up into the most handsome deep blue ocean-like eyes she ever saw. Her eyes roamed his tanned face and went up to his glossy black hair. He was drop. Dead. GORGEOUS!

"Uh, Meatball Head?"

That broke Serena out of her trance, "What?" She narrowed her eyes, "My name is Lily, thank you very much."

"Well, since you still have a meatball on your head it seems only fitting to give you a nickname accordingly."

Serena reached for some napkins and Andrew handed her a wet towel while he was laughing. She snatched the towel out of his hands and looked back at the annoying, but simply divine, creature. "Well, then, it seems only fitting that I should call you 'Jerk,' seeing as how you have it written plain-as-day on your forehead."

Darien sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Man, I thought I got that off. Now I blew my cover."

Andrew rolled his eyes as he proceeded to the introductions. "Darien, this is Lily and Mina. Mina arrived shortly after you left and this is Lily's first day here. Girls, this is my best friend Darien. He just got back from some job-thing in Washington D.C."

Andrew reached over and handed Darien a key. Darien thanked him and said, "I can't stay long, I have to get back and get everything in order for Monday." Serena had gotten the meatball and all of the meatball sauce out of her hair at that point, but unfortunately for her, the damage had already been done. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Meatball head. Mina." He turned to them each respectively and nodded his head in acknowledgement before he walked out, receiving a death-glare from Serena until he was out of sight.

Mina started laughing at Serena who then turned her glare on her and whacked her on the arm with the wet, sauce-covered towel. "Hey! Eww!" Mina grabbed a napkin and wiped her arm off, still giggling to herself.

Andrew chuckled and took away Mina's empty cup. "That's Darien for you. He'll grow on you once you get to know him."

Serena made a disgusted face as she finished her drink, "I just hope this is the only place that we both will frequent. We can work out a schedule or something and file for joint custody." Secretly, however, she was looking forward to getting to know him. Andrew was cute, yes, but Darien? Oh, he was in a league of his own. His hair, his eyes, his face, his mouth, his broad shoulders and his muscled arms… She licked her lips as if she was about to eat a slice of cheesecake… Ooo…

"Andrew, do you have any cheesecake?"

~*.*~

Darien walked into his apartment building and waved at Sammy on his way to the elevator. He pressed the number '6' and smiled as he waited for the doors to open. 'Meatball Head…' He chuckled to himself. Mina and Lily were both beautiful women. In fact, beautiful couldn't even begin to describe them. Their long legs, perfect curves, crème skin, clear blue eyes and silk-spun blonde hair were something you would imagine a Goddess to look like – and although they looked so much alike, there was something about Lily that made his heart flip in his chest. He didn't know why he felt like he had to be obnoxious, but her reaction was addictive and he couldn't wait for the opportunity to bait her some more. He entered the elevator and leaned back against the wall as he smiled.

~*.*~

Serena and Mina were laughing as they walked back into the building a little bit later. For the past hour all they did was talk about absolutely nothing. Andrew stopped trying to keep up with them and just laughed at occasional comments he would hear and send a weird look their way when he heard others. All in all, this had to be an amazing day. They waved at Sammy on their way in and headed for the stairs, still laughing.

"Oh, I had so much fun!" Mina said as they reached their floor. Mina went to hug her and Serena fully returned the sentiment. "So what are we doing tomorrow?"

Serena laughed and then yawned, "How about we figure it out tomorrow? I usually get up early, so come by whenever you want."

Mina smiled, "Sure thing, Sweet dreams!" Serena waved as she walked to her own apartment.

"I'm home!" She shut the door behind her and was quickly greeted by Luna. Serena bent down to pick her up and walked into the bedroom. She set Luna down on the bed, went in to brush her teeth, came back in to change into her pink pajamas and then snuggled underneath the covers. She smiled at how simply wonderful her day had turned out to be and Luna curled up next to her. Serena fell asleep to the sound of Luna's purrs.

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	4. The Love of Coffee

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**Chapter 4** - The Love of Coffee

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_Serena was kneeling next to a beautiful pond in the middle of a field. The sky was as blue as ever with absolutely no clouds in sight. A gentle breeze flew across the field, rustling the high grass. She breathed in and smiled at the perfect day. She bent forward and dipped her cupped hands into the water to drink. As she lifted the heels of her hands to her lips, lightning shot across the sky. Clouds immediately formed and the sky turned red. She heard a chainsaw rev behind her and turned to see a giant bunny with an ammunition strip across its chest, camouflage cargo pants, and a chainsaw in its hand. _

_She screamed, got to her feet and started running. The bunny hopped after her, gaining on her faster than she could get away. When she looked back again, the bunny was right behind her only this time it wasn't a bunny. It was Chase sporting whiskers and bunny ears. He was still hopping like a bunny which slowed him down and gave Serena enough time to get ahead of him. Suddenly, a door appeared in front of her. She flung it open and ran into a dark room, turning around and putting her weight against the door to shut it. She sighed in relief. Her eyes opened wide when there was a loud 'thump' on the door behind her. She turned around and backed away from the door into the dark of the room._

_A bright light flashed down on her and doors from each side opened to reveal a clown. The clowns danced into the room and she realized they each had Mark's face. The thumping on the door got louder until finally it broke open and Chase hopped into the room. The clowns were dancing in a tight circle around her while Chase was hopping in a circle around the clowns. In every one of the clown's faces, she could see Mark smiling at her. A trap door opened up beneath her and she screamed as she fell through the floor._

Serena sat up in bed breathing heavily, causing Luna to jump to full alert and arch her back. Serena thought back over her dream. Then she started laughing, "What in the hell was that about?" She pulled the covers off and picked Luna up. Walking down the hallway towards the living room, Serena couldn't help but continue to laugh at the vision of Chase, with whiskers and long ears, hopping up and down like a bunny.

She checked the living room clock as she walked through to the kitchen and sighed when it read '8:02 a.m.'. She set Luna down by her food and went into the kitchen to flip the coffee pot on. Stretching, she headed back into the living room and plopped down on her couch. She pulled out the notebook that she had stored all of the paperwork in and opened it up. She took out her school schedule so that she could check it with Mina later and then flipped to a blank page to start practicing her signature as 'Liliana Avery'. After about 5 minutes of that, she heard the coffee pot click off and got up to retrieve a cup.

Adding French Vanilla creamer, she took a sip and moaned in delight. She headed back to the couch and set the coffee down. Luna tried unsuccessfully to jump onto the couch and after giggling, Serena helped Luna up and set her down next to her. Luna got onto her leg and then jumped up onto her shoulder where she laid down, letting one of her legs hang down Serena's back. Serena tilted her head, gently laying it against Luna and closed her eyes as her head was massaged by Luna's purrs.

She took up the notebook again and stared at the signatures she wrote for her new name before picking up the pen and signing the names of her previous identities: 'Renee Alcott,' 'Heather Ward,' and finally 'Brooke Maguile'. She was in the middle of thinking back on her different lives when there was a knock on the door. Her head shot up but she took a deep breath. 'Calm down, Serena. Seriously.' She closed the notebook and set it on the coffee table before she got up and peeked through the peep hole, with Luna still on her shoulder.

She saw Mina and by the looks of it she had walked right out of bed. Serena opened the door and Mina came in. With her eyes closed, she took a big whiff and followed her nose to the kitchen. Serena was about to shut the door when she noticed a white blur run in after Mina. Luna immediately jumped off of her shoulder and proceeded to chase Artemis around her apartment. Serena laughed and followed Mina into the kitchen to see her with her nose an inch away from the coffee pot.

"Uh, would you like some?"

Mina looked at her with tired eyes and nodded as enthusiastically as she could. "Yes, please! I could smell it all the way down the hall and since I hadn't smelled it before this morning, I just knew it was you."

She laughed as she poured Mina a cup and motioned for her to join her in the living room. Serena almost tripped when Luna ran between her legs followed shortly by Artemis. "Children! Calm down, seriously." Mina giggled and collapsed onto the couch. Serena sat down in the chair nearby.

"Oh, is this your class schedule?" Serena nodded as Mina sat up and looked it over. "Hey! We have Social Psychology together! Are you a psych major, too?"

Serena nodded again, "Yeah, I want to be a counselor. You?"

Mina shrugged, "I'm not really sure if I want to do anything with my degree. I'm actually working on a modeling career. I did some low-profile gigs in England and when I showed my portfolio to a modeling agency here, they hired me and have had me doing a lot of things locally and promise me that I have the potential to be a model on the national level. I'm so excited!"

Serena could definitely see how Mina could pull off being a model. She was absolutely gorgeous with the desired long legs and the flawless complexion. "I think you will do amazing at that! Let me know next time you have a gig and I'll come out and see you!"

"Sure, thing! Are you going to be looking for a job? I could talk to the agency to see if they're hiring!"

Serena hadn't really thought about it. The FBI is supplying her with more than enough money to live off of, but she might end up needing something to fill her time. "I don't know, I think right now I need to get caught up in my classes, but maybe later I'll look for one." Before there was any possibility of Mina asking a question regarding her previous employment, she changed the subject. "So, what are we doing today?"

"I don't know, it's your second day here after all. What would you like to do?" It looked like the coffee had revived Mina.

"Actually, if we could swing by the campus I need to pick up my books and I would like to know where my classes will be so I don't get lost tomorrow. I also need to go buy some kitty necessities, but after that I think I should call it a day so I can be ready for classes tomorrow."

Mina glanced at Serena's schedule again, "It's a big campus but I think I can do a tour justice." She stood up and finished off her coffee. "Shall I come back in an hour?"

"Yep, I should be ready by then." She watched as Mina walked to the door and called for Artemis. He was comfortably curled up with Luna and didn't budge. "Aww, they're so cute together!"

Mina just rolled her eyes and went to retrieve the love-struck cat as she waved and headed out the door.

Serena heard Luna meow sadly and went over to pick her up. "You found a boyfriend, didn't you?" She kissed Luna's nose and went into her bedroom to decide what she should wear before she started to get ready for the day.

An hour later, Serena opened her balcony door and a warm breeze brushed against her skin. The sun was out and added to the gentle wind, it was an absolutely beautiful day. She had decided on a knee-length white skirt that moved easily and a pink tank top with lace shoulder straps. She put her hair back in a barrette and brushed back a few fallen bangs with her fingers. She leaned out over the railing and looked out at the city while she waited for Mina.

Mina showed up at her door half and hour later. She was wearing tan capri pants and a white tank top, but her hair was still wet and she was barefoot.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, but I a friend sent a Youtube video link to 'I'm on a Boat' by The Lonely Island and I couldn't stop watching it!" At the blank look Serena gave her she continued, "You haven't seen it?" Serena shook her head and was dragged down the hall towards Mina's.

Her apartment was beautiful, but it was the many pictures hanging on the wall and sitting atop the mantel that caught Serena's eye. How she missed having all of her pictures displayed. Mina sat her down in front of the computer in her living room and clicked the 'play' button. (_AN: Stop reading right now and go watch it! It's so funny and it explains the next paragraph. Warning: There is a lot of cussing in the video._) At the end of it, Serena was laughing. While Mina went into the bathroom to dry her hair, Serena watched it two more times.

"Mina, I'll meet you back over at my place!" She heard a 'K!' from Mina before heading back down the hallway. She decided to look into getting a computer and laughed when she went to her closet to pull out her pink flip flops. She heard a soft knock on the door and headed back into the living room. She opened the door quickly before waving her flip flops in front of her face, "I got my flippy floppies!" She laughed even harder when Mina did the same thing at the same time with her flip flops. Oh, how alike they were.

She folded her schedule neatly into her purse and put her flip flops on her feet before saying goodbye to Luna and shutting the door. They walked down the stairs and into the lobby to be greeted by Ken.

"Ah! Good morning, ladies!"

"Good morning, Mr. T!" The girls chorused.

"What are your plans for the day?"

"Mina is going to show me the campus and I'm going to get books for my classes."

"Sounds like you have a busy day in store for you," a woman came into the apartment building and headed to the desk, "Well, you two have fun!" He turned and walked over to assist the woman.

Mina drove Serena to campus and they walked around finding out where her classes were. Mina sat them down on a bench in front of the library and taking out a camera from her purse, she pulled Serena towards her and snapped a couple of cute pictures. After getting the books she would need for her classes, Serena and Mina practically skipped back to the car. It had been a very long and tiresome day, but the girls still found energy to be excited.

They drove to the pet store and Serena grabbed some extra food and kitty litter before heading to the toys section. Mina grabbed a laser pointer and handed it to her, "This is an absolute must for every cat owner."

"What do they do with that?"

"Oh, just you wait and see."

Serena laughed and picked up some hard catnip balls and something that had a round piece of cardboard in the center that cats could scratch on with a ball that goes around it in a circle.

Mina looked at that oddly, "What cat in their right mind would find that amusing?"

"I don't know, but let's find out!" With that, they left the store and drove back to the apartment. They carried everything upstairs and Serena opened up the new toys for Luna. Mina sat cross-legged on the floor and Serena turned the chair around so she could face the open living room.

"Let's try the round-circle-ball-thing first…" She set it down and Luna sniffed at it before swatting at the ball. Within a few minutes she was jumping all over it and pushing at the ball with her paw making it go around and around in circles.

"I should get one of those for Artemis!" Mina said through giggles. Serena in the meantime was trying to get the laser pointer package open. When she finally succeeded she jiggled the chain to get Luna's attention and clicked the button to turn it on. As soon as the red light appeared, Luna pounced. Serena had Luna chasing that light up and down the hallway, jumping up the walls and around and around in circles until Luna, quite literally, couldn't move because she was so tired.

Seeing Luna so tuckered out reminded Serena what time it was and caused her to yawn.

"You can't be tired already!"

Serena laughed, "Sorry, but I better call it a night – I have another long day tomorrow."

Mina sighed, "I'll be by around 8:30 since we both have a 9 a.m. class and I can drive you to campus." Mina went to get up and the second she put weight on her foot she fell back onto the floor.

"Mina! Are you okay?"

"I'm good! There will be a momentary delay in travel but the pilot has everything under control!" Serena laughed as Mina banged her foot on the floor and made funny faces when the pins and needles kicked in. She finally got up when the feeling came back in her foot and said goodnight to Serena.

Serena opened the package of catnip balls and tossed one on the floor for Luna before heading to bed.

However, when she finally got into bed she could not get to sleep. Why? Because she kept hearing Luna batting the catnip ball against the walls. After five minutes of listening to that, she threw off the covers and snatched the ball away from Luna. If a cat could pout, that's exactly what Luna would have been doing. "I'm sorry, but I need my sleep! You'll get it back tomorrow and you can play with it all day long." Serena put the ball up on a high shelf and headed back to bed.

~*.*~

"_Brooke, don't be paranoid. Nobody is following us!" Serena looked back over her shoulder and she could have sworn someone had slipped behind the corner of the last building. Her heart beat faster. It had been well over a year and based on the past two times, she was on borrowed time until he found her again. She shook her head. She was just seeing things. Wasn't she?_

_Becky always walked Serena back to her apartment because it was on the way to her house and it gave the two more time to spend with each other. Becky was the only friend Serena had decided to spend a lot of time with, she had many more, but kept them at an arms length - mostly because she didn't want to drag someone else into her chaotic situation. She was already having such a difficult time accepting the loss of one innocent life, she couldn't bare to risk that happening to anyone else. Serena's heart ached to go back in time and change what had happened - Oh, how much she missed her…_

_She was brought out of her thoughts as Becky waved a hand in front of her face, "Earth to Brooke!" _

"_Sorry, what?"_

"_You zoned out there for a sec, you okay?"_

"_Yeah, yeah. No, I'm fine. Just have a lot on my mind is all. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" _

"_Of course! I'll be here at the usual time, see you then!"_

_Becky would not see her the next morning - She knocked on the door, but Serena never answered. Becky would never see Brooke again.  
_

_~*.*~_

Serena opened her eyes and rolled over in bed. She tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill forth but in the end she couldn't deny them. When Serena struggled to go back to sleep, all she could see were the violet-speckled blue eyes that had once stared up at her with so much love. Serena held her pillow close as her body raked with sobs and she remembered the life that was ripped from her arms.

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	5. Day of Introductions

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_**READ THIS:** **I put the prologue at the beginning of chapter 1, so those of you who reviewed on the last chapter (Technically chapter 4 - though the website said it was chapter 5) will be told that you already reviewed this chapter. It looks as though you will have to sign out to leave a review. I'm really sorry about the inconvenience - it won't happen again! :P**_

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**Chapter 5 **- Introductions

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Serena hadn't been able to get much sleep the night before. Any sleep she had gotten was plagued by memories of the past. After spending hours trying to quiet her mind, she sighed and decided to get a head start on the day. She walked out into the hallway and saw Luna unsuccessfully trying to climb the bookshelf. Serena rolled her eyes and took the catnip ball off of the top shelf and tossed it onto the floor. Luna immediately started chasing after it.

Serena rubbed the tiredness from her eyes. With no sleep and three classes she was in for a long day. She glanced at the living room clock which read '5:36 a.m.' She had 3 hours until Mina was supposed to knock on her door. She flipped the coffee pot on, then opened the door to her balcony and walked out, the concrete roughly caressing her bare feet. She breathed in the cool morning air and closed her eyes, listening to the birds sing to each other. A quiet breeze swept through, causing the leaves on the trees to stir and rustle against one another. How she loved the sounds of nature. She took another deep breath and ran a hand through her hair when she heard the coffee pot click off. She went back inside to pour herself a cup.

The catnip ball shot across the floor in front of her feet followed closely by Luna and Serena smiled. She didn't have it in her to laugh but she was thankful for the smile – it did make her feel a little bit better. She took a sip of her coffee before heading into the bathroom and splashing her face with cold water. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and the dark circles under her eyes have been her constant companions for the past few years.

She drank the rest of the coffee and decided to take a cool shower. When she was finished, she wrapped herself in her robe and started to towel-dry her hair as she walked out of the bathroom. Luna was waiting for her on the other side of the bathroom door, seemingly to have become bored with the catnip ball. She meowed and followed Serena into the living room. Serena peeked over at the clock again and it was a quarter after 6. She took the bag holding her books and sat on the couch, opening the book that was for her first class. She figured she might as well try to get caught up. She picked Luna up and placed her down on the couch where she immediately curled up against her leg.

Close to 8 a.m., she put the book down on the couch and went into her bedroom to pick out an outfit for the first day of classes – the first day for her, anyway. She pulled out her dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt. Serena wished she could wear classier clothes, but she knew only attractive women could pull those off. For the past 5 years of her life, she believed she was worthless and nobody else could ever want her or ever find her desirable. Even though she was now running from the man who had made her believe such lies, she couldn't help but continue to be convinced that those lies held some truth.

Despite what she thought of herself, even in that 'simple' outfit, she was far from undesirable. Her blonde hair and sky-blue eyes were a spitting image of her father's while her curves and feminine features were from her mother. Serena's mother seemed to have been taken out of a portrait of an artist's dream – her beautiful red hair, her tiny waist, her full lips and her amber eyes that, when the sun hit them, reflected a pink hue as if they contained a treasure chest of rubies. Her vivacious personality, matched with that of her father's, created something very special in Serena.

Her jeans fit snug against her curves and her black t-shirt was taut around her chest, curved in around her stomach with the bottom of the shirt hugging her hips. Serena may have thought she looked like an ordinary girl, but to everyone else she was the epitome of perfection. She dried her hair and put it up into a loose bun, exposing her gracefully long neck. Strands of her hair fell out of the bun to frame her heart-shaped face. She put some concealer under her eyes, a subtle blue eye shadow on her eyelids and pinched her cheeks to create a rosy hue. She doned simple silver cubic zirconia stud earrings.

She sighed at her reflection, "This is as good as you're going to get." When she glanced at the clock and saw it was '8:35,' Serena decided to go over to Mina's to see how close she was to being ready. She slipped on a pair of black sandals, put the books she needed into a book bag, grabbed her purse and told Luna to behave herself. She went over and knocked on Mina's door. Shortly after, Mina answered. She was brushing her teeth but other than that she looked to be all ready to go.

Mina tried to tell Serena that she was almost ready and sorry for the delay but all she got out were gurgled mumbles of toothpaste and finally just held up a finger and ran back to the bathroom. Serena shook her hand and giggled softly. She was greeted by Artemis and she bent down to pet him.

"I'm so sorry, I just didn't want to get up this morning. I'm all ready though!" Mina looked Serena up and down, "You look so cute!" Mina was wearing a short tan skirt and an open white, silk blouse with a white lace low-cut shirt underneath. Serena thought she couldn't hold a candle to Mina but, while Mina's outfit was showing more skin, Serena looked every bit as amazing as she did.

"And you look beautiful!" Mina spun around for her, "Now I feel like I should go change," Serena said as she looked down at what she thought was her simple jeans and t-shirt.

"Are you kidding me? You look gorgeous! You'll have the boys swooning over you in no time! Hopefully you can take some of them off my hands – they're getting a little too numerous for me to handle! Shall we go?"

Serena nodded and they headed out the door. Mina drove them to campus and they started walking towards the main row of buildings. "Do you remember where your classes are?"

Serena looked around trying to get her bearing on where she was, "Yeah, I think so."

"Well, here. Give me your cell phone. Just in case you get lost, you can call me and I'll help you. That or you can text me if you get bored in class – I probably won't be paying attention anyway, so it won't be a distraction for me!"

Serena laughed as Mina plugged her phone number into her phone.

"What type of phone is this?" Mina asked.

"It's a Samsung."

"I've been meaning to buy a new phone, do you like it?" Mina said as she handed her the phone back.

"Let's just say I want to smash it with a hammer and send the pieces back to the company with a rather harsh letter." Mina laughed at that and Serena continued, "Actually, I'm looking for a new phone too, so let me know what you find."

Mina nodded, "Well, we better go. I'll see you next class!"

They headed separate directions and Serena tried to remember where she was. With five minute to spare, she found her first classroom. She walked up to the teacher, "Excuse me, Mr. Connor? I'm Liliana Avery, the transfer student?"

He was a good looking man in his early thirties and he couldn't help but look her up and down – so quickly, in fact, that Serena wasn't sure if he had. He blinked a few times before nodding, "Yes! Yes, Ms. Avery, welcome to the University of Florida, glad you could join us. As you know I'm Mr. Connor and here is the class syllabus. Do you have any questions?"

"Well, yes, actually. I need to get caught up, is there any way I can get the notes?"

"Sure, not a problem. Hang out up here for a moment and I will ask if someone in the class will let you copy theirs." He went to the front of the class, "Attention students, we actually have a transfer student, Liliana Avery, and I was wondering if any of you would be kind enough to let her copy your notes so that she can get caught up in the class."

Immediately, every man in the room raised their hands and started talking with each other. A few of the girls raised their hands, too. "Ah, Ms. Michaels, thank you." There was a notable sigh from the men that they had not been chosen. "Liliana, if you would go sit next to Amy here, you two can coordinate a time when you can copy down the notes." He motioned towards a girl with short black hair that had a gentle blue hue to it when it hit the light.

Amy smiled at her when Serena sat down next to her. "Hi! I'm Amy."

Serena nodded, "I'm Lily." They both turned their attention towards the teacher as he started lecturing. When class was over, Amy turned towards Serena.

"So, where are you from?"

Serena looked at her for a moment, trying to remember what she had told the others. "I'm from Texas, just transferred here to get away from some things."

Amy noticed the pained look in her eyes and was sensitive enough not to press her any further. "When would be a good time to have you copy the notes?"

"Well, I'm on my way to another class right now, but how does tomorrow night sound?"

Amy nodded, "I volunteer at the hospital but I get off around 8:30, I could swing by afterwards so you could copy them."

They walked out of the classroom together and Serena handed her a paper with her address on it, "Since you volunteer at the hospital, I assume you want to be a doctor?"

"Yes, actually. It has been my dream for a long time. My mother is also a doctor, so it will be nice to follow in her footsteps."

"This seems like an odd class for you to be taking with your desired profession."

"Silly degree requirements. I saved my Upper-Division Humanities courses for last so I could have an easy schedule because I would be spending so much time at the hospital."

"How many other hours are you enrolled in?"

"16. I know it's not much, but like I said, I knew I would be at the hospital so I kept it light."

"How many hours do you spend at the hospital?"

"Anywhere from 30 to 40 hours a week."

Serena just stared at her. 16 hours of classes, not including study time, AND she spent all of that time volunteering at the hospital? She wondered what Amy did for fun or if she even had any free time.

"Well, it was wonderful to meet you. I'll be by tomorrow night around 8:30 with the notes." Serena nodded and waved bye to her while she continued down the stairs and out of the building to meet up with Mina in her second class.

On the way to her next class, Serena heard the most enticing melody being played on the guitar and someone singing softly along to it. She poked her head around a tree and saw a beautiful girl with long black hair and closed eyes strum her long, graceful fingers against the strings of the guitar as she sang. She stopped playing and Serena walked over to her.

"You're really good!"

The girl smiled and her soft, deep, blue eyes sparkled up at Serena. "Thank you! I'm just practicing for tonight – It's my first performance at The Shrine and I'm so nervous! I'm Raye."

Serena sat down on the grass next to her, "I'm Lily, and don't worry, from what I heard you will do great!" The girl grinned over at her, "What is The Shrine?"

The girl's grin dropped, "You don't know?"

Serena shook her head, "I just moved here, I'm sorry."

"Oh! That explains it. Don't apologize, it's just the new restaurant and bar that opened up a few weeks ago. It has a stage for live performances." She chuckled softly, "It's kind of funny how I got the gig really. I actually work as a waitress there and they heard me singing. When I told them I write my own music, my boss asked if I wanted to perform. I've never performed in front of people. Especially when I don't know anyone!"

"Well, if you like, I can come and watch you. After all, you know me now!" Serena sent Raye a carefree smile and Raye returned it.

"I would actually really appreciate that. I perform at 8. I can hold a table for you up at the front, what is your last name?"

"Avery – can I bring a couple friends along?"

"Of course!"

Serena looked down at her watch, "I really have to get to my next class but I will see you tonight?"

Raye nodded, "Yeah! I'll see you then!" She started playing again as Serena got up and walked off towards her next class.

Serena walked in a few minutes after the class had started and tried to sneak in unnoticed to sit next to Mina, but the teacher saw her and stopped the lecture. "Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?"

Serena shook her head, "No… I'm the new transfer student."

"Oh! Yes, Ms. Avery." He walked over towards her with a piece of paper and handed it to her, "This is the class syllabus. If you would please take your seat, I will resume my lecture. Please don't be tardy from now on as it interrupts the rest of the class from learning."

Serena's cheeks turned red from embarrassment and snuck quietly to the chair next to Mina.

Mina leaned over to her, "I was afraid you got lost!" She was about to say more when the professor cleared his throat.

"Ladies, if you please?"

"Sorry, Mr. Logan."

The girls exited the class and Serena let out a huge sigh of relief, "I though he was going to yell at me!"

Mina laughed, "Yeah, he's a pretty 'special' teacher. Don't worry about it, though. I have come to the conclusion that he is genetically-designed to be mean and decided not to take his cruelty to heart." Mina walked on ahead of her, "Come on! I want you to meet Molly, she'll be waiting for us in the food court."

Serena caught up to her and a few moments later they were looking through the huge crowd trying to find Mina's cousin.

"Mina!"

They both turned around to the sound a female voice that had a southern-ring to it. Mina smiled and hugged the girl that came up to them.

"Lily, this is Molly, my cousin. Molly, this is Liliana, the girl I told you about."

"Hi, Lily! Mina told me a lot about you when we talked on the phone last night, I was looking so forward to meeting you!"

Serena's stomach grumbled loudly. Serena blushed, "It's wonderful meeting you. My stomach apparently says hello, as well."

Mina and Molly both giggled. "Come on, let's get something to eat so your stomach will stop talking."

Serena blushed and nodded. Once they got their food they found a secluded spot to eat which was a difficult task as there were people everywhere. Over the course of lunch, Serena found out that Molly works at a jewelry shop that her mother owns and has a huge crush on some boy named Melvin. Molly was a cute girl with auburn hair, round cheeks, and big blue eyes. Not baby blue like Serena and Mina's or deep blue like Raye's, but somewhere in the middle.

Mina threw away her trash, "So you girls want to do anything tonight?"

"Oh!" Serena had almost forgotten to mention it, "Actually, on my way here I met this girl… Her name was Raye. She wanted me to go see her performance tonight at 8 and I told her I would. You guys want to come along?"

"Sure, where is she performing at?"

"A place called The Shrine."

Serena watched as both Mina and Molly's eyes went wide. "The Shrine?" They both said at the same time.

"Yes… I assume you've heard of it…"

Mina chimed in, "Oh my gosh! It's only the newest and most coolest place in town now! It's very popular and very hard to get into. You'll have to be in line for a long time if you want to get a seat by 8."

"Well… Actually, she's having a table at the front held for me and anyone I want to bring."

Mina and Molly practically jumped up and down in excitement. Molly could barely contain it, "Lily, that's so cool! Count me in!"

"Me, too! I get out of the agency around 7:30, so I should be able to meet you all there around 7:45!"

Serena laughed at the girl's reactions. She glanced at her watch and sighed, "Well, it's time for the last class of the day. I'll see you both tonight? The table is under my last name, Avery." The other girls nodded and went off in another direction, talking wildly to each other about tonight.

Serena sat through her last class and found herself constantly glancing at the clock. She couldn't focus because of how tired she was. When the teacher dismissed them she joined the students in leaving the classroom and went off on her way to join Mina. She pulled out her phone to send her a text message to see where they wanted to meet up when she ran into someone and got knocked off of her feet and caused the other girl to drop all of the papers she was holding onto the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

"It's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." She accepted the girl's hand and got back to her feet before she knelt down and helped her pick up the papers. They turned out to be fliers. "A Self-Defense class?"

"Yeah! I'm the assistant. The guy who usually teaches it has been out of town. Normally it starts a couple weeks before now, but the first class is tomorrow night. You should come! It's an excellent skill for everyone to know."

Serena looked up at the girl as she handed back the fliers she had caused her to drop. Instead of looking at eye-level, like Serena had to do with Mina and Molly, she looked up. This girl was tall! She had long brunette hair that was pulled back into a pony tail and the prettiest green eyes Serena had ever seen. She was wearing a loose-fitting shirt and form-fitting light blue jeans. Despite the slightly husky voice and how tomboyish the girl looked, she still exuded a certain amount of femininity.

"I'm Lita."

"I'm Lily." Serena looked down at the flier she held in her hand. "The first class is tomorrow, you said?"

"Yep, over at the strip mall in the big gym at 6:30. Think you can make it?"

Serena thought back over everything that had happened the past few years and decided it was time to learn something that she could do to protect herself for when he found her again. Serena nodded, "I will be there."

Lita smiled, "Great! I'll look forward to seeing you!" She waved and headed over to another wall to put more fliers up.

Her cell phone started ringing. She looked down at the caller I.D. and saw it was Mina. They planned to meet back at the car and Serena started heading that direction as she looked back over the flier before folding it up and putting it in her purse.

Mina dropped her off at the apartment and continued onto the modeling agency. Serena started to walk in but stopped and looked over at the sign for Crown's. "I'll go see what Andrew is up to."

Serena walked into Crown's and opened the door. Andrew waved at her and she headed over to the counter.

"Hey, Lily! How was your first day of classes?"

"Long, Long, and Longer."

Andrew chuckled. When she came in, his breath had caught in his throat – she was a very attractive girl. When she got closer to the counter though, he was able to see her eyes and could tell she was tired. "Didn't get much sleep last night?"

Serena shook her head as she sat down on the stool, "No, I… I guess I was too nervous about today."

Andrew poured her a glass of freshly brewed coffee, "Here, drink up. It's on the house."

Serena breathed it in before taking a sip and sighing. "Oh, that's wonderful, thank you." She pulled out the book for her third class, "I found out I have a paper due next week in my last class."

"The professor won't give you any additional time on it since you just moved here?"

Serena shook her head, "I didn't ask. It's not a problem, I can do it." She opened up the book to the chapter she needed to write the paper about.

"Well, if you can't, just keep in mind the other students have known about this paper from the first day and it's only fair you should get extra time on it."

Serena smiled up at him, "Thanks – I'll remember that."

"Well, I'll let you read." He waved at someone else who came into the restaurant and left her alone.

Serena read the same sentence over and over again and no matter how strong the coffee was it wasn't keeping her eyelids from drooping down. She folded her arms over her book and decided to lay her head down for just a moment.

~*.*~

Darien walked into Crown's a couple hours later and waved at Andrew as he made his way to the counter. "Hey, man! How's it going?"

Andrew put his finger to his lips and pointed to the sleeping girl on the counter.

Darien looked down and thought the world had stopped around him. It was Lily, the girl he had met a couple nights before. The sun was shining in through the window as it was setting and was hitting the top of her blonde hair creating an ethereal glow that made her look like a sleeping angel. Darien quietly sat down next to her and Andrew got him his regular coffee.

A few moments later, she sat up quickly and gasped, "Don't!"

Darien stared over at her and raised an eyebrow, "Good afternoon, Meatball Head."

Her eyes turned towards his suddenly and Darien saw the terrified look in them while she proceeded to glance around at her surroundings and he visibly noticed her body relax.

"I must have fallen asleep," she rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes and asked Andrew for a fresh cup of coffee. "How long was I out?" she asked Andrew when he set the cup down in front of her.

"For a couple of hours. I turned my back for a second and when I came back here you were already asleep. You must have been more tired than I thought."

Serena nodded, "I was." She glanced at her watch and saw that she had half an hour before she was expected to be at The Shrine.

"It's only your first day of classes, and you're already tired? You should stop staying up so late and get something called 'sleep.'"

Serena sent him an annoyed expression, "I know what sleep is, _Jerk_."

"Aw, so you remember your nickname for me. How sweet! Well, hopefully next time you can remember that books are supposed to be read, not drooled on."

Serena looked down at her book to see a tiny wet spot and slammed the book shut, stuffing it into her bag. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Especially when I'm reading 'How to' books about making people who act like jerks wish they hadn't been born."

Darien chuckled, the way her brow creased when she was angry made her so incredibly adorable.

"I'll see you later Andrew!" She waved at him and only sent Darien a glare before she walked quickly out of Crown's towards where Mina said The Shrine was.

~*.*~

Serena walked up to the person standing outside The Shrine, getting annoyed looks from the many people waiting in line. "Hi, um, a table was supposed to be held for me under Avery."

The man looked down the list in front of him and smiled up at her, "Yes, Ms. Avery. Welcome to The Shrine. The man inside will show you to your table."

"Thank you, I'm also expecting two more girls to join me named Molly and Mina." The man made a note about it and Serena was escorted to her table at the front by the stage. Shortly after, Mina and Molly showed up with big grins on their faces and sat down at the table.

"This is so exciting!" They didn't have to wait long before Raye came out and sang a beautiful song about unrequited love. When she was finished, the whole restaurant cheered for her. Raye thanked them and then went backstage. The girls were talking about how amazing she was when she walked out and joined them at their table.

"Oh, Raye you were brilliant!" The other two avidly nodded their agreement. "Girls, this is Raye. Raye, I would like you to meet Mina and Molly."

The girls got to know each other and Serena confided in them about the annoying encounter she had with Darien.

"Who is Darien?"

"Oh, he is only the most attractive man on this planet!" Mina chimed in as she sighed.

"He's also the most annoying."

"Oh, Lily – you don't know what you're talking about. I think it's cute how he acts towards you! It means he likes you!"

"He's not in elementary school anymore, Mina."

Raye spoke up, "Just tell him off."

"What, tell him if he doesn't stop bothering me that I will feed him to a man-eating penguin?"

Raye thought about it, "That could work but it lacks a certain amount of poetry."

"Well," Serena said, "It doesn't have to. What rhymes with penguin?"

The girls all laughed and it was an uphill conversation from there.

"You all want to get together at my place tomorrow night?" Serena offered.

Raye and Mina nodded immediately but Molly sighed in her chair, "I can't. I promised my mother's friend I would babysit."

"Don't worry! We'll get together again when you are available!"

Molly smiled and it was obvious that she felt better.

"I have another performance tomorrow night, but I can be there around 9. Is that too late?"

"Not at all! We can have a girl's night and watch a movie or something."

"That sounds great! We'll have to get snacks!" Mina started mentally writing down a shopping list.

"Oh, most definitely! A girl's night isn't a girl's night without a significant amount of sweets!" Serena was happy to be spending time and getting to know the girls a bit better – the fact that there would be sweets involved just made her that much more excited about it.

Raye laughed and said she was looking forward to it but that she had to get back to work now and would see them tomorrow.  
After eating, the other three got into Mina's car and, after dropping Molly off, went back to the apartment.

They walked inside and said good night to Ken who was leaving for the evening and waved hello to Sammy as they passed by the desk and headed towards the stairs. Serena went to bed that night not believing how many friends she had made in only 3 days. She hadn't intended on it working out that way, but she was glad that it had. She was really looking forward to tomorrow night.

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_Please review! __If you don't, I will hold the next chapter hostage!_

_I hope you all enjoyed it. It was a little longer than I had originally anticipated making it, but my fingers wouldn't stop typing._

_Oh my GOSH! I just realized I could edit this using the document manager. *Face vaults* That makes my life so much easier..._

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	6. Brooke's End

_I had only intended to make this part of another chapter, but it ended up being too long so I decided to turn it into its own chapter. _

_For those of you who couldn't review on the last chapter because of my changes in the order, this is your second chance! :P_

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**Chapter 6** - Brooke's End

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October 2008

**~*~*~*~*~****2 weeks before****~*~*~*~*~**

As Serena walked up the stairs to her apartment, she was wishing more and more with each step that she had asked to stay at Becky's. Her instinct told her that something was wrong, but Becky was already well on her way and she was almost home. She walked into her apartment and tossed her purse and the keys onto the table next to the door. She turned on the light.

"Hello, _Brooke_."

His voice sent icy chills through her body and her eyes closed in resignation as a tear slipped down her cheek. She gripped the door knob as she thought about running, but realized that she probably had been followed and there was most likely someone down there waiting for her in case she tried to escape. She slowly turned around to face him.

Why, after everything he had done to her and after everything he had put her through, did her knees feel week when she looked at him? His pale blonde hair, practically devoid of any color, against his tanned skin, firm jaw and muscular body, resembled chiseled perfection. He focused on her with intensity and looked her up and down with lust apparent in his violet-blue eyes.

He stood from the chair and walked over to her, like a lion seeking its prey. His hand caressed her shoulder, gliding it up to her neck as he circled her. She heard the door lock behind her. He completed the circle and stood in front of her again, the back of his hand brushing lightly against her cheek.

"How I have missed your soft skin," he leaned forward and she took a step back, her body now snug against the door. She felt his breath on her neck as he whispered into her ear, "Your body trembling under mine."

His hand turned around to where he was cupping her chin. He placed a hot kiss below her ear as his hand slid down and firmly gripped her neck. He whispered in her ear again, his voice sending chills down her spine, "I have all of the time in the world to make you regret thinking you could ever run from me."

She felt the pressure build in her head as his grip tightened. Her hands reached up to claw at the hand around her neck while she tried to gasp for any air that she could. Her vision turned black and cloudy as she felt her resistance slacken and her knees start to fold underneath of her.

With a scream of blind rage he threw her, by her neck, across the room. Her body propelled forward and she fell against the coffee table and then onto the floor as she coughed and gasped for air. He stalked over to her and kicked her hard in the stomach. She let out a pained grunt in response. He squatted down so that he was right above her and she looked up at him, tears blurring her vision.

He reached down and gently stroked her hair, as if he was petting her. In a sense, she supposed that's exactly what he was doing. What else was she to him if not his pet? He gripped the back of her head, pulling her lips hard against his. Her gasp at the sudden movement allowed him entry and his tongue roughly probed her mouth – giving her a hint of what he had planned for her.

He pulled back abruptly and gripped her hair as he went to his feet, forcing her to stand with him. He breathed in her scent, "The last time I was this close to you was before her funeral."

She suddenly pushed him away from her and choked out a sob, "How dare you bring her into this!"

He chuckled softly, but the good-natured sparkle in his eyes died out in an instant to one of need, "You will be dead before you can ever testify against me – and I promise you that your death will be slow." His lower lip firmed and his cheek twitched before he backhanded her, sending her flying towards the wall and into the table next to the door, knocking it from its feet and sending the contents that were setting on top of it to the floor.

Her phone slipped from her purse and landed in front of her. A light went on in Serena's mind as if someone had just handed her a key to freedom. With a new sense of confidence, she gripped the leg of the small table that had toppled over and rolled onto her back, flinging it full-force into the side of Chase's head.

He cried out as he fell over onto the floor, a hand going to comfort the wound he had received. She turned back around, flipped open her phone and held down the number '2'. She saw the name come up on the screen and heard the soft rings. A large hand grabbed her ankle as she was pulled across the floor and the phone slipped from her grasp. All she could do was hope.

~*.*~

Michelle giggled softly, "How I have missed you, Amara."

A deep voice moaned in agreement, "I'm so sorry it took me so long to get some time off, I just –"

She put her finger to Amara's lips to quiet her, "I didn't get you all the way over here to hear you apologize. Besides, it wasn't just you – we had to coordinate the visit with my schedule too. Only an emergency can keep me from you now."

Her lips had barely touched Amara's when her phone started to ring. She sighed, "I knew it was too good to be true." She leaned over, picked up her phone and flipped it open, "Agent Kaioun." She smiled and squirmed in delight as Amara kissed her neck.

"Hello?" Michelle took the phone away from her ear to see who had called. When she saw who it was, she panicked, "Serena?" She heard a woman scream and a man's voice grunt, 'You'll pay for that, bitch!'

"Oh, shit!" Michelle pushed herself up and Amara quickly followed. "It's Serena! The girl I told you about! Give me your phone and grab your keys!" Amara complied and within seconds they were out the door, guns in hand, racing to the car.

Michelle dialed frantically on Amara's phone. "Yes, this is Agent Kaioun, badge number 64072, I need immediate assistance at 306 west Beaufort, apartment D8." They sped out of the driveway as Michelle listened into her phone at the screams and whimpers. "Hang on, Serena…"

~*.*~

Serena was aware that her pants were being pulled down to her ankles. It hurt too much to fight back and all she could do was protest in a hoarse whisper. She heard a phone ring and Chase curse under his breath.

"What?" Chase yelled into the phone. She heard another man's mumbled voice on the other end.

"Chase, get out of there! The feds arrived and there are two instead of one, a man and a woman. They're taking the east stairs. I'll be waiting in the car outside of the alley – get out!"

She looked over to see his face change from one of anger to one of hesitation. He shut the phone and looked down at the girl sprawled out before him and then to the door before looking back at her. "How did you alert them?" he yelled at her as he pulled his pants back up hurriedly. He couldn't stop himself from giving her one last kick to her side before promising her he would see her again. He fled the apartment and headed towards the west staircase.

~*.*~

They reached the 4th floor and flung open the door as they turned the corner and raced down the hallway. Amara saw a fleeting form run down the other staircase. "You check on her, I'll get him!"

Michelle nodded as she seized her chase and disappeared into Serena's open apartment door. She pulled her gun out when she saw the chaotic mess and slowly walked in, "Serena?" She heard a moan from around the corner and walked into the dining room to see Serena, lying on the floor with her chest exposed and her pants down to her ankles. Michelle didn't see one inch of her that wasn't covered with blood or a bruise. She called for an ambulance as she kneeled next to the barely conscious girl, "Stay with me, Serena. Stay with me."

~*.*~

Amara burst through the door at the bottom of the stairs and looked one way and then the other. She saw a man running towards the side exit and started after him.

She got to the door before it shut, pushed it back open and ran through into the dark alley. She was greeted with a metal pipe to her abdomen and fell down into a squat as she groaned and held her stomach.

Unfortunately for her attacker, the position she was now in allowed for a better push off. She launched herself off of the concrete and jumped onto him. Once they stopped rolling she got on top and straddled him to prevent him from escaping. She gripped his hair and slammed his head into the hard ground before landing punches to his face, one after another.

She barely managed to say that the man was under arrest before something hard met with the back of her head and threw her off of him.

"Run, sir! We'll hold him off!" She heard retreating footsteps as she flipped quickly back onto her feet. She saw the man she wanted running out of the alley and turned her attention to the two men in her way. A pipe swung at her again but this time she caught it in her hands. She ripped it from the man's grip and rammed it into his stomach. She saw another man behind her and she whipped around, hearing a sickening crunch as the end of the pipe met with the front of his neck. The third man collapsed as she was tackled to the ground by the other two.

One of them pulled the pipe from her, freeing her hands to grip the shirt of the other and fling him off of her with her feet and into the wall of the building. She saw him land on his head and into a crumpled heap. She rolled out of the way as the pipe landed a blow to the ground where she had been and then rolled back, knocking the pipe from the last man's hand. She kicked him in his side and again in the back of his knee, causing it to buckle and the man to fall. She pulled her foot back and sent the heel of her shoe into the side of the man's head. Rotating her weight, she aimed another kick upward directly into his face. She felt his nose break and watched as his still form fell backwards onto the ground.

She grabbed the pipe and jumped to her feet as she ran out of the alley and saw the man she wanted retreat into a car across the street and speed off. She heard sirens in the distance as she flung the pipe after the escaping car and screamed in anger.

As nobody but Serena saw his face, and she was judged too prejudice against him to allow her testimony to hold up in court, Chase's lawyer claimed the attack was a setup against his client. Out of the three men that attacked Amara, only one man was still alive, but it was looking more and more like he would never wake up from the coma she had put him in. It was too dark for Amara to have seen his face and although they knew exactly who it was, Chase was not convicted. All they could do was find somewhere else to hide Serena. It was decided to transfer Serena to the other side of the country and she was then placed under the protective care of Agent Amara Tenohsin.

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	7. Hint of the Past

_Enjoy! Please R&R!_

_**READ THIS! SERIOUSLY!**__: _

_Okay, most of you got really confused when you saw that I posted a new Chapter 5 –but keep in mind it IS a __**NEW**__ chapter, I just moved the prologue to the beginning of Chapter 1, so Chapter 5 is new! _

_Please make sure you have read Chapter 5 before reading this chapter, otherwise it WILL NOT make sense! _

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**Chapter 7** - Hint of the Past

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Serena woke up to Luna curled up against her neck. She was glad that she had designed a make-shift staircase for her so she can get up on the bed without Serena helping her. She didn't want to move and disturb Luna, but she had to get ready for classes. Instead of waking up, Luna just slid down the pillow and was now resting where Serena had just been. Serena giggled and decided that she needed to go and buy a camera for cute times like these.

She went in the kitchen and flipped the coffee pot on. Within moments there was a knock on the door. This time, Serena knew exactly who it was. She shook her head and had a funny feeling that this was going to be a daily routine. She opened the door to find Mina, still in her pajamas, looking like she quite literally just got out of bed.

"Gooooood morning, Mina! Gooood morning, Artemis." Mina grumbled in response and took in a big whiff and headed to the kitchen. Artemis stood in the doorway and looked around. "She's in the bedroom sleeping." As if he could understand her, he took off towards the bedroom. She raised an eyebrow before shutting the door and joining Mina.

Serena leaned against the kitchen wall while she watched Mina breathing in the coffee. Mina really did remind Serena of herself a few years back. She never used to get up on time and would always hit the snooze button until her adrenaline kicked in because she only had ten minutes to get to class – and that was with two parents yelling at her to get up!

When she got to college though, things changed. That's when she started living with Chase and that's one thing that he would not tolerate. He kept getting onto her saying that he didn't want to be with someone that was stupid and lazy. She couldn't stand that disgusted look on his face so she started forcing herself to get up.

That is when she discovered coffee, and oh such a wonderful discovery that was. In addition to the coffee, she had one other thing to thank Chase for. If he hadn't threatened her into getting up on time, she probably wouldn't be the straight 'A' student that she was today. She won't lie, she got the occasional 'B' on assignments, but they were definitely not for her lack of trying.

Serena shook her head and focused back on Mina. She poured Mina a cup and handed it to her, "Don't you have a coffee pot at home?"

"Yes, but normally it's the smell that wakes me up and by the time I can smell your coffee and get over here, it's already ready – whereas I would still have to make mine! And why would I do that when there's delicious coffee right down the hall?"

Serena laughed as she poured herself a cup, breathing in the intoxicating aroma.

Mina sighed, "I'm in Heaven… I think I can stand to get ready now. I'll bring back the cup when I come back to get you." She headed towards the door, "Artemis!"

He didn't come to her call and they walked into the bedroom to see Artemis giving Luna a bath. Serena and Mina chorused, "Awwwwwwwwww!"

"Don't worry about getting him, he can stay here for today – Hey, there's an idea! How about you drop Artemis off every morning so he and Luna aren't alone while we're in classes!"

"That's a great idea!" They started walking back towards the front door and Mina threw a thumb over her shoulder motioning back to the bedroom, "By the looks of it, I don't think they'll mind! Be back in a bit!"

After she finished her first cup of coffee, Serena took a shower and put on her robe. When she walked into the bedroom, she found the two cats cuddled up and sound asleep. She put a hand to her mouth to keep her squeal quiet and jumped back and forth from one foot to another because of how cute it was. She quietly picked out a pair of tan shorts and a tight maroon t-shirt. She grabbed her pair of black flip flops and snuck out of the bedroom.

Mina came back by once she was ready and Serena grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bedroom. She put her finger to her lips and they peeked around the door and Mina had to slap a hand on her mouth too. Mina pulled out her camera and poked Serena in the side with it. Serena took it and crept into the bedroom and turned the camera on. She zoomed in on the two cats and snapped the shot before sneaking back out of the bedroom.

The two girls ran back into the living room and shared the camera while they turned it on and looked at the picture. "I want a copy of that!"

Mina laughed, "Of course!" They headed down the stairs and into the lobby.

"Well, good morning ladies!"

"OH! Mr. T! LOOK!" Both girls ran up to him and Mina showed him the picture.

"Well, I'll be. That sure is adorable! Looks like Luna found herself a boyfriend."

The girls giggled and walked out to her car. "By the way things are going, we'll be family in no time!"

Serena smiled at her thinking how much she would enjoy having a family again. Little did she know, the same thought was going through Mina's mind. They both lost their families and it would be nice to feel like a part of something again.

They got to campus and waved to each other, "See you at lunch!" Serena went off to her first class. She waved and sat next to Amy.

Amy smiled at her, "Good morning, Lily! How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm great! I took the cutest picture of my cat this morning! She was cuddled with one of my neighbor's cats and it was sooooo adorable!"

Amy laughed gently, "It sounds adorable, I would love to see it!"

"Maybe when you come over tonight with the notes? Tonight will still work, right?"

"Yes, around 8:30. I should be there by then."

Serena opened her mouth to say something else but the professor started speaking and she turned her attention to the front.

After class, Serena waved to Amy, "See you tonight!" Amy nodded and waved back.

Serena looked at her schedule again so she knew which building she was going to. She had forgotten that in college there were two first days, not just one. She finally found the building and headed into her class. She walked in and immediately caught the eyes of a girl with beautiful long black hair.

"Raye! How awesome is this?"

The other girl laughed, "I think this is a little too awesome. How are you?"

Serena nodded, "I'm great!" Then she told her about the adorable picture she took of Luna and Artemis this morning and Raye laughed.

Serena was paying attention to the professor but out of her peripheral vision, she kept seeing someone look in her direction. She finally looked over and saw a very attractive man with light brown hair. He lifted the side of his mouth in a smile and Serena felt her heart skip a beat before looking quickly back at the lecturing professor.

Serena and Raye escaped out of the side door and back into the sunlight. She looked behind her and saw the guy with light brown hair following her out of the side door. Raye looked back and forth between the two of them and raised an eyebrow.

Serena smiled back at him when she was suddenly knocked into Raye by a girl running by.

"Alaaaan!" The girl ran up and hugged him as Serena was straightening herself out. She saw Alan grimace and put a hesitant arm around the girl.

"Hey, Ann. How was your class?" As they walked off, Alan peeked back over his shoulder at Serena and winked at her before heading off with Ann.

"OH my gosh, LILY! Alan was totally hitting on you!"

Serena turned back to Raye a moment later, "Huh? What?"

Raye just laughed and grabbed her hand before pulling her in the opposite direction. Serena didn't have another class before lunch so she walked with Raye to her class. "Honestly, Lily. It's only your second day of class and already you have the captain of the football team flirting with you!"

Serena laughed, "Who was that girl that threw herself on him?"

"Don't forget the same girl who almost knocked you over!" Raye huffed, "That was Ann. You know, you would think that the whole 'Captain of the football team dating Captain of the cheerleaders' thing would be over with after high school."

Serena giggled, "Yeah, you would think so." They stopped in front of the building of Raye's next class. "You're joining us for lunch, right? Mina gets out of her class at 12:20, so we're meeting in the Union at 12:30."

Raye smiled, "Yeah! I'll join you guys. I have a break after this class until 2, so I usually just spend it practicing my guitar." Raye patted the guitar case hanging on her shoulder.

"Well, maybe we can find a place outside to eat and you can still practice! We'd love to listen to you!"

Raye smiled, "I'd like that. Well, I'll see you then!" Raye headed off into the building and Serena decided to wander around campus until lunch. She had seen the outside of the library but didn't go inside and wanted to know what it looked like on the inside. She adjusted her bag and headed off in the direction she thought the library was.

~*.*~

"Alright, we have a test on Thursday so don't forget to study." The class looked at him patiently, "That was another way of saying you can go." Darien started stuffing quiz papers into his suitcase. When he turned back around there were 4 girls waiting to speak with him. Darien sighed, "May I help you ladies?"

"Well, we just wanted to say that it's such a great thing you were back is all!"

"Yes, when we found out that we had a substitute we were thoroughly disappointed because we heard what great teacher you were and that was the reason we were taking this class!" She spoke so quickly, Darien and the other girls could barely understand her.

"Mr. Shields, we were also wondering if you were going to uh…"

Another girl spoke up, "If you were doing a study session for the test on Thursday." The other three girls nodded enthusiastically and Darien could see a blush creep on their cheeks.

"Ladies, you are Juniors in college. I think by now you should know how to study on your own. There are study guides posted online and you can use those to help you."

The girls all sighed and walked out of the room. Darien just rolled his eyes and picked up his suit jacket and briefcase. When he went out into the sun, he pulled out his sunglasses, put them on and headed down the stairs. He ignored the girls gawking at him and headed away from the building.

He was walking to his car when he saw a vision that made him stop dead in his tracks. He pushed his sunglasses down on his nose. She was standing in the sunlight looking up at the library building. He took a hard swallow and tried to ignore the heavy feeling in his chest. The sunlight created a celestial glow about her, making her look like an Angel-on-Earth. At the same time, however, her long legs exposed like that was making him feel things he definitely shouldn't be feeling towards an Angel.

His breathing was getting faster as he was watching her and he had the aching need to run his fingers through her hair and his hand along her soft skin. He regained his composure and slid his sunglasses back up his nose as he made his way over to her.

"Hello, Meatball Head." The reaction he was expecting was definitely not the one he got.

Her face went to one of peacefulness to one of complete and total fear. He saw the sun reflect off of the water pooling in her eyes and a tear fall down her cheek.

"Oh! Darien," Serena quickly brushed the tear from her face with a hand and smiled. Her smile faltered when she looked up at him. He was wearing black slacks and a button up blue shirt with a black tie. His broad shoulders and his black glossy hair hanging over his sunglasses made her knees weak… but most of all, it was that sexy side-grin of his. She saw his grin fade. "What are you doing here?"

He frowned at her, "Are you all right?"

Serena nodded, "Yes, of course I am. You just startled me, that's all."

Darien stared at her for a moment. He knew something else was going on and he had an idea. His mind lingered on that thought for awhile before he was interrupted when she repeated her question.

"Darien? Hello? What are you doing on campus?"

"I teach a class in Criminology here."

"You're a teacher?" At his nod, she continued, "You're teaching criminology, what are you a police officer or something?"

Darien chuckled and that sexy side-grin touched his lips again. "No, I'm in the FBI."

Serena stared at him for a moment, "FBI? Do you know A-" She caught herself as she was about to ask him if he knew Amara. "I mean, that trip you just got back from. Some FBI thing?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Darien looked from side-to-side and leaned in close to her, "But if I told you about it, I would have to kill you."

That's when she went back to being the girl he knew. She put her hands on her hips and sent the cutest glare his way. "Honestly, Darien. That line is so overused!"

He laughed and it sent shivers down her spine – the good kind of shivers. He looked back to the library that she was staring up at, "You know, Meatball Head, they won't take kindly to having all of their books drooled on."

"Oh! Darien, I know I just met you the other day but you can be SO obnoxious!" She turned to walk away but he reached forward and grabbed her wrist jokingly.

~*.*~

"_Chase, you're hurting me!" She shook her arm free and turned to walk away. _

"_Don't you dare walk away from me," he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back towards him. She saw the other hand flying towards her face. _

_~*.*~_

She gasped as Darien pulled her back towards him. She hid her face with her other hand, "Don't!"

Darien released her wrist as if it was made of hot coals, realizing what she thought he was about to do.

Serena stared up at him with a horrified look in her eyes and the hand that was covering her face flew to her mouth. She stifled a sob and ran off.

"Lily!"

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed as he went to go after her. Now he understood her reaction when he startled her earlier. He just couldn't imagine someone hurting such a perfect creature.

He wouldn't have found her if he hadn't heard her sniffs. She was safely snug under a willow tree and hidden from any of the sidewalks so that nobody could see inside. Her legs where pulled to her chest and her head was resting on her knees. He could see her back shaking from her crying. He bent beneath the branches and squatted down to sit next to her.

"Lily, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize." He put a hand on her back to comfort her.

She pulled away from him. "I don't want your pity, Darien. Just leave me alone."

"Lily, I-"

"I said leave me alone!" She yelled at him causing a couple of the students that were walking near the tree to peek underneath trying to see what was going on.

Darien saw the people trying to peek in and rather than make a scene he sighed. "I'm sorry…" He got up and looked back, "If there's anything you ever need, let me know." When he didn't get a response, he bent to pass underneath the branches and told the other students to get back to what they were doing.

~*.*~

Serena looked down at her cell phone and saw it was close to the time she was to meet the girls for lunch. She sighed and wiped her face as she crawled out from underneath the tree and headed towards the Union. Her stomach was in knots now that Darien suspected the truth. Well, some of it anyway. She hated others pitying her.

When she met the girls for lunch, she was very distant. They tried asking her what was wrong but she would just shrug her shoulders. They got up to leave for their last class and Raye pulled Serena aside telling Molly and Mina to go ahead and they would catch up.

Once they were out of ear shot, Raye turned to Serena. "Lily, what's wrong? Please tell me?"

"You've known me for a day, why do you care?"

Raye pursed her lips. "Lily, I might have only just met you yesterday, but I know that this isn't you! I know that you are a happy girl that attracts people to you like moths to a flame and something happened that got you upset!" Serena looked down as she awkwardly played with her hands. Raye calmed her tone. "Yes, I may have just met you, but you were there for me the one night I needed someone the most and now I want to help you. Please tell me what happened?" When Serena didn't answer, Raye gently put her pointer finger under Serena's chin and raised it. When she saw the tears in her eyes she pulled Serena into a hug.

"Someone reminded me of something, that's all."

Raye pulled back and looked Serena in the eyes, "Whenever you feel comfortable telling someone, I'll be here for you. Okay, Lily?"

Serena nodded and hugged Raye again. "Thank you." She wiped her eyes and she smiled and started walking in the direction that Mina and Molly went.

By the time they met back up with Molly and Mina, Serena was back to the way she used to be. That or she was hiding it well, they couldn't tell. After their last class, they met back at the car and Mina drove Serena back to the apartment and then headed onto the modeling agency. Serena went upstairs, set her books down on the table and sat down to start working on the paper that would be due the following week.

An hour later there was a knock on her door. Serena couldn't think of who it would be and slowly made her way to the door to look into the peep hole. She was surprised to see who it was on the other side. She opened the door quickly, "Amara!" She invited the taller woman in. The first time she had met Amara, she thought she was a man. It was a very easy mistake to make. Amara was tall with short light brown hair, broad shoulders and quite honestly she was extremely handsome in the kind of way a man would expect to be. Serena didn't even want to go back and think about how awkward it was for her when she realized Amara was a woman.

"Serena, thank goodness. I was worried when you didn't answer your phone." She walked into Serena's apartment.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I turned it off for class and I forgot to turn it back on. I didn't mean to worry you!"

Amara laughed and ruffled Serena's head. "It's okay, I'm just glad you're okay. How is everything going?"

Serena shrugged, "Pretty good, I guess. I have actually met a lot of wonderful people." Serena sat Amara down on the couch and started telling her about all of the people she has met. When she got to Darien, Amara was trying to hide her laughter – that is, until Serena told her about what happened today.

"It's just that when he grabbed my wrist, I had a flashback to Chase and it just… I don't know, I guess I just wasn't prepared for it."

Amara brushed some hair out of Lily's face, "After everything you've been through, It's hard not to respond that way. Want me to kill him for you?"

Serena laughed. "No, he's not completely evil. Oh! He's actually in the FBI, too!"

"What's his last name?" When Serena said she didn't know, Amara asked what he looked like.

"Well, he's tall, dark and handsome. Totally not your type at all."

Amara had a laugh at that, "I think I know who you're talking about though."

"Oh, Amara – don't talk to him, okay? Promise me?"

Amara rolled her eyes, "Alright, but you tell me if he bothers you again and I'll let him have it."

Serena laughed, "I will, I promise. Oh! I nearly forgot," Serena got up and returned quickly with the flier for the self-defense class and showed it to Amara.

"What's this? A Self-Defense class? You're going to take this?"

"Yeah… I figured it's about time, right?"

"You damn well bet it's about time. Michelle only told you that years go." Serena blushed, "It says it starts at 6:30, it's close to that now. Let me walk you there."

Serena smiled and grabbed her purse, "Sure! I'd like that." Amara placed a gentle hand on her back as they left the apartment.

Once they got out of the lobby, they started talking. After awhile, Amara remembered something she was supposed to tell Serena. "Michelle is coming for a visit next week and she would like to see you."

"Oh!" Serena hopped up and down. "I would love that!"

"Well, she can't know where you live unfortunately, but we can meet somewhere else. I'll give you a call when she gets in town."

Serena blushed, "I promise I won't call and interrupt this time."

Amara laughed and nudged her gently, "You better not or I'll tickle you." Amara reached out for her slowly.

"No, no, no, don't!" Serena laughed and ran ahead of her. Amara chased after her and was about to catch up when Serena ran into someone leaving the building and knocked them both off their feet.

"Lily, how is it we keep meeting like this?"

"Lita! Hey! Sorry," Serena laughed.

Amara reached down to help Serena up and then extended a hand to Lita. Lita just stared up at her with her mouth hanging open.

"Uh, Lita?"

Lita shook her head, "What? Huh?" She finally accepted Amara's hand and got up, brushing herself off.

"Lita, this is Amara. Amara, this is Lita." Serena watched as Lita looked dreamily up at Amara.

Amara bent down and took her hand and kissed it. "Pleasure to meet you." She looked to Lily, "See you next week."

Serena nodded and waved at her. She saw Amara turn around and wink at Lita. Serena put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at Amara, "I'm going to tell Michelle on you!"

Amara made a horrified face, "No, no, I'm going!"

Serena laughed as Amara hurried off. She turned back towards Lita and saw her staring off after Amara. She waved a hand in front of her face, "Lita?"

Lita sighed, "He looks just like my old boyfriend…"

Serena raised her eyebrows, "Uh, Lita? Did you hear the name of the person you're gawking at?"

Lita looked at her and shook her head and then back to Amara's fleeting form, "I think it started with an A, I don't know." She sighed, "He's so dreamy…"

Serena started laughing. Lita looked at her like she was crazy. "Lita, HER name is Amara, and SHE's a GIRL."

Lita looked at her, "Nuh uh! That's impossible! Besides, you said you would tell someone named Michelle that he was flirting with me and IF he was a girl, that wouldn't bother another girl unless – Oh… OH!"

"And there it is…"

Lita covered her face with her hands, "How embarrassing!" She blushed and pointed behind her, "The class is in there. I just forgot to get something from my car, so I'll be right back." Lita left in a hurry.

Serena giggled after her and went into the building. She passed a lot of workout rooms and finally found the room she wanted and peeked through the open door. She saw a LOT of women there and was about to walk in when her eyes caught the form of a very tall man with black hair in the front of the class.

"Darien? Darien teaches this class!" She whispered harshly to herself. The only thing she could think of to do was to escape before he saw her.

* * *

_"Please please save me!" Chapter 8 pleaded with the people who read this chapter. Review for this chapter! It's the only thing that will save me now!"_

_Click the button below to rescue Chapter 8 from deletion._

_XD I'm joking! Or am I...? No, seriously I really want to know what you thought Pleeease?_


	8. Self Defense

_Enjoy! Please R&R_

_Reviews make me feel loved, so please review? Even if you hate it!_

Previously in Chapter 7:

Serena giggled after her and went into the building. She passed a lot of workout rooms and finally found the room she wanted and peeked through the open door. She saw a LOT of women there and was about to walk in when her eyes caught the form of a very tall man with black hair in the front of the class.

"Darien??? Darien teaches this class!?" She whispered harshly to herself. The only thing she could think of to do was to escape before he saw her.

* * *

**Chapter 8** - Self Defense

* * *

Serena was turning to leave when she saw Lita coming back down the hallway.

"Hey, Lily! Where were you going?"

"Oh, well, I don't think I want to come tonight after all."

"Aw, come on. You're already here. Remember, this is a great skill for every woman to know. Come on, let me introduce you to the teacher." Lita took her hand and went to walk her into the room. Serena tried to grab the edge of the door but it slipped from her grasp and she was pulled in.

"No, no, Lita please. I'm good." She tried to pull her hand away from Lita's. She finally succeeded and turned back to the door and walked swiftly towards her freedom.

"Lily?"

This time, however, it wasn't Lita calling her back. Darien had spotted her. She slowly turned around and her eyes started at his feet as she worked up the courage to meet his eyes. When their eyes met, she could clearly see his concern for her.

"Hey Darien… I didn't know you were teaching this class…"

Lita looked back and forth between the two of them, "You two know each other?"

Serena refused to meet his eyes again and simply shrugged her shoulders, so Darien spoke instead. "I suppose you could say that."

Lita took in Serena's reaction at meeting him and her previous desire to flee the room and realized something was going on between the two of them and she was bound and determined to figure out what it was.

Darien took a moment to stare at Serena before looking back at the class, "Alright, let's begin. As you all know, I'm Darien Shields. I have been teaching this Women's Self-Defense class for the past three years. This is a 10 week class meeting every Tuesday night. I will teach you the basics of self-defense including the weak points of your opponent, how to adapt to each situation and how to determine which defense skill to use in each of those situations. Please let me introduce my assistant, Lita Kinsley. If you have any questions throughout the next 10 weeks please ask me or Lita and we'll be happy to help you. If you could all please stand in a line with about 2 feet between you, we'll go ahead and start."

Serena was already at the front of the class and looked behind her, wanting to retreat to the back of the room. Unfortunately, there were 5 rows of women and absolutely no way she would be able to make it without bringing attention to herself. She hesitantly took her place at the front of the room and turned back around to face Darien.

"First thing you all need to know is to pay attention to your surroundings. Also, know that if you choose to carry a gun or a knife without the proper training, those can easily be taken from you and used against you. From experience, it is best to use your knowledge and your own body as the weapon. Carrying mace with you, especially if you find yourself having to walk alone at nighttime, is a great way to distract your attacker. Just remember to keep it out of view until he gets close enough to use it effectively. Mace is only good if it's not expected. Also, if you ever feel threatened – listen to that inner voice. Do NOT disregard it." He continued to talk about being vigilant and different things to do to prevent having to use self-defense in the first place.

Serena felt his eyes on her almost the entire time he was talking. She kept going over what had happened earlier that day and she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze.

"Now that we have talked about how to try and prevent any need for self-defense, we need to talk about what happens if for some reason you find yourself face-to-face with your attacker. There are many different ways they will approach you, but something you always have to remember is, if you use your head and think before you act, there is usually always something you can do." He motioned for Lita to stand in front of him.

"Say a man is walking towards you. If you don't know the person and you start feeling uncomfortable, tell them to stop before they get within arms reach of you. That will usually catch them off guard long enough for you to figure out what you need to do." Darien started walking towards Lita and she raised her hand and yelled 'Stop!' at him when he was 4 feet away from her. He talked a moment more about how to handle that situation.

"Now, if the attacker still proceeds to walk towards you, you will need to know how to make a fist and stand in such a way that you have more power behind your attacks. At this time, I would like all of you to make what you think is a proper fist. We'll walk around and help you individually." Darien and Lita went around the room to check and fix the women's fists.

Darien walked in front of Serena before getting her attention, remembering her reaction to being startled earlier and not wanting to repeat it. He reached forward and gently took her fist. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the fist she was making, he just had the odd need to touch her hand.

"Here, if you hold it like that it will prevent injury from happening to you. Just remember to align your wrist and your elbow when you punch, because otherwise you could cause more harm to yourself than your attacker." In that explanation, he gently ran his hand slowly from her elbow to her wrist.

Serena was barely listening to him. As much as she had wanted to run away and never wanted to see him again after what happened earlier, she couldn't prevent the feelings that occurred within her when his hands ran up and down her arm.

"Lily?"

"Huh?"

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"Yes, I was!"

"Alright, then throw a punch the way I just told you to."

She looked up at him and then put her fist out as if she was trying to punch someone. She felt embarrassed when she heard him sigh. He walked around to stand behind her and Serena's breath caught when he placed himself firmly against her back. He ran his hand down her arm and to her hand, bringing it level with her wrist. She felt his other hand gently rest on her waist and she forced herself to breathe.

"Do it like this so you don't hurt yourself."

Darien felt her lean back against him and was fighting to control his heartbeat, lest she feel it pounding against her back. She felt so good in his arms and he didn't want to let her go. Her skin felt like rose petals and her perfume was taking control of his senses. He looked down, saw her long, slender neck and his hand resting on her waist tightened as his mouth went dry and he lost all ability to breathe.

"Darien?"

He looked up and his eyes met with Lita's. He realized how it must look and he quickly backed away from Serena. He felt as if a part of him died the second she was out of his arms and cleared his throat as he tried to get his voice back, "Very good, keep practicing." Lita just shook her head and laughed at him as he walked away from her.

Serena stared at his retreating form. She couldn't believe how safe she had felt and how perfect her body fit against his - As if two pieces of a puzzle were finally joined together. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the thrill of how it felt to be in his arms.

"Lily, what on Earth was that all about?"

She opened her eyes to see Lita standing in front of her. "What are you talking about?"

Lita crossed her arms, "I have taught this class with Darien for 3 years now and not once has he ever shown attention to another woman like that."

Serena blushed and shrugged, "I just did my punch wrong and he tried to correct me. I don't know what you mean."

"How long have you known him?"

"I met him Saturday. It was my first day in the city and I was at Crown's with a new friend." Serena remembered how he had made fun of her and forced those feelings to the front so she could try and cover what had just happened. "He is so annoying!" She crossed her arms as she huffed and Lita just raised an eyebrow.

Darien had controlled himself and made his way back over to Lita and Serena. "So how do you two know each other?"

Serena turned her glare on him, but as much as she tried to remind herself that she hated him, she couldn't stop what her body was feeling on the inside and just had to hope that it wasn't noticeable.

"Well, I was hanging fliers for the class on campus yesterday when Lily, quite literally, ran into me."

"Ah, well you need to watch where you're going next time, Meatball Head."

Serena narrowed her eyes at him, "My name is Lily, NOT Meatball Head!"

Lita couldn't help but ask, "Meatball Head?"

"Oh, well when I first met her she had decided to play with her food instead of eat it and she ended up with a meatball on her head."

"First of all it was not my food! And -"

"Oh, so you were playing with someone else's food?"

"No! A kid threw the meatball at my head!"

"I'm suuure he did." Darien said that in such a way as to egg her on as he turned to Lita, "Wouldn't you be offended if someone tried to wear your food as a hat?"

Lita held her hands up, "I'm staying out of this one."

Darien turned back to Serena, "Well, Lita here is the best cook in the state. I'm sure if you promised to actually eat your food she would be happy to fix you something."

Serena clenched her hands into fists at her sides and was about to tell Darien what she thought of him when she realized the entire class was watching them.

Darien quickly went to the front of the room, "Sorry – we'll pick up where we left off next week and discuss how to punch and where to place the punches to make them more effective." Before Darien could make it back to Serena, he was surrounded by women in the class asking him questions.

Lita couldn't believe what had transpired in front of her. She had never seen Darien act like that and couldn't help but think he had feelings for Lily. "Well, I would be happy to fix you something. I've actually been wanting to try out this new recipe for awhile now. If you wouldn't mind being my guinea pig that is."

"So you're really a cook?"

"Yep, I'm actually working on a management degree so that I can run my own restaurant."

"Oohh, how cool! I totally wouldn't mind being your guinea pig!"

Lita smiled. She usually had such trouble talking to other women because of how intimidating she was, but Lily didn't even seem to notice. "Do you have any plans for tonight? I could take you by the grocery store and then back to my place and fix it. I'm dying to know what someone else thinks!"

"Oh, I would love to but I actually have a few friends coming over tonight." Serena was really disappointed but then brightened up almost instantly, "How about you cook for all of us at my place?? That way you can have more guinea pigs! They love food almost as much as I do."

Lita laughed, "Sure! What time are they coming over?"

"All of them should be there sometime between 8 and 9."

"Oh! It's almost 7:30 now, we need to hurry!" They picked up their things and they headed out of the room. Serena looked back over her shoulder and her eyes met with Darien's before she turned the corner into the hallway.

Darien was trying to take care of as many of their questions as possible so he could go back over and talk to Lily. When he looked up and saw her leaving the room, he wanted to go after her, but there were too many people around. He sighed and turned his attention back on the women around him, barely listening to their questions as his mind kept drifting off to his Meatball Head.

A little past 8, Lita and Serena made it back to her apartment. Lita looked around at how big it was, "I could probably fit my entire apartment in here three times!"

Luna quickly made her presence known and when Lita set the groceries down on the kitchen counter, Serena introduced them and told Lita the story of how she found her.

"She's so cute!! I've always wanted a cat, but my apartment doesn't allow them."

"Well, if you ever need any kitty-time, feel free to come over whenever you like!"

Lita smiled over at Serena. She still couldn't believe how easily the two of them had become friends. She went back into the kitchen and started unpacking and asking Serena to get out the pans and cooking utensils that she needed.

Serena could barely contemplate how wonderful it smelled. Lita kept having to push her away from the pan when she tried to smell in it and when Serena pouted, Lita laughed and told her to be patient.

A little before 8:30 there was a desperate knock on the door. Serena's face scrunched up and she went to open it. She was almost run over by Mina when she went into the kitchen and smelled into the pan Lita was cooking in. Serena quickly followed her in.

Lita was pretty much pushed out of the way with Mina's face deep in the pot, smelling the wonderful concoction. Lita glanced over at Serena, commenting on how Mina kept wanting to smell the pot, too. "She's not related to you, is she?"

Serena giggled, "Lita, this is Mina. Mina, this is Lita!" Mina barely acknowledged her as she kept smelling the food.

Lita cleared her throat, "The faster you let me finish cooking, the faster you can eat it." At that, Mina cleared out of her way and back to Serena's side.

"Ohmygosh, it smells so good! I can't wait to try it!"

Serena giggled and heard another knock on the door. When she went to open it this time, Amy was on the other side.

"Hello, Lily." Amy heard people talking in the kitchen, "Is this still a good time to bring by the notes?"

"Actually Amy, this is the perfect time. Please come in. One of my friends was wanting our opinion on a new recipe and you're more than welcome to join us!"

"Well… I really should get back home and study. I have an exam in a couple weeks and I want to be prepared."

Serena took her arm gently and led her into the apartment, "Come on, Amy. Doesn't it smell wonderful!? Take a night off!"

Amy smiled, "Well, if you insist. It does smell rather scrumptious." Amy handed her a blue plastic folder. "Here are the class notes so far."

"Oh, thank you!" Serena set them down on the dining table next to her backpack as she led Amy into the kitchen. "Girls, this is Amy. Amy, this is Lita and Mina."

"Hi, Amy. Are you going to stay and try some of my food, too?"

"Yes, Lily invited me in. It smells wonderful. Do you cook as a hobby?"

"Well, It started off as a hobby but I guess I have a knack for it. I was hired to cook for a restaurant and that has been my dream ever since."

"What restaurant do you cook for?"

"Avalon."

The other two girls whipped their heads towards Lita, except Serena.

"Avalon?! That's the fanciest restaurant in North Florida!! You're a cook there?!"

Lita blushed and nodded, "Yes, I help create new food for the menu and run the kitchen."

"What an honor to have an Avalon chef cooking for us!"

Serena really was lost as she saw the girl's reactions but tried to keep it from being obvious.

"When's Raye going to be here, Lily?"

"She said she would be here around 9, so it shouldn't be much longer."

"That will be great timing because this should be ready to eat by then."

They talked about little things and got to know each other better until Raye arrived. Serena introduced Raye to Amy and Lita.

"If it smells this good, I can't wait to see how it tastes!" The other girls nodded in agreement to Raye's comment.

Finally, Lita announced that it was ready and turned around to see all of the girls holding their plates out eagerly with wide eyes and practically drooling in anticipation. Lita laughed as she filled their plates before filling one for herself. Serena cleared the table and they all sat down.

"OhmyGOSH!"

They all stared at Mina's outburst and Lita looked to the others, "Is that good?"

All Mina could do was nod before diving back into her food. After the others had their first bite, they joined Mina in devouring everything on their plate.

"Oh, Lita. That was truly the best thing I have ever eaten."

Lita smiled over at Amy, "So you all liked it?"

"I think 'love' is the better word for what we thought of it."

After eating, they all teamed up on the dishes and Serena put the leftovers away to save for Molly. They all got to know one another and by the end of the night, the 5 girls were inseparable.

Before they all left her apartment, Serena suggested they get together Thursday night at the pool. "I haven't even been out to see it yet, but it looks beautiful from the lobby. What do you all think?"

"That would be fine with me, I don't usually have anything to do Thursday nights and I could make some snacks!" Lita started mentally preparing a list of what she could fix.

"If she's making snacks, you can totally count me in! I'll ask Molly if she can make it."

"I get off work at 7 on Thursday, so I will definitely be there!" Raye was looking forward to getting to know the girls more. She didn't really have a lot of friends and couldn't believe that because of one person, she was now part of a close-knit group of 5 other wonderful people.

"I really shouldn't, I need to be studying for that test."

"Oh, Amy that test is in a couple of weeks!" When Amy still didn't look like she would give in, Serena grinned. "I will hold your notes hostage unless you come to the pool party on Thursday."

Amy laughed, "Alright, Alright. I can be there around 8."

Serena jumped up and down. "This is going to be so much fun!" They all exchanged phone numbers and the girls piled out of Serena's apartment, looking forward to the pool party.

Serena sat down at the table and started to copy the notes Amy had brought. She wasn't tired, but she couldn't get her mind to focus so she decided to head down to the lobby and look around.

She headed down the stairs and walked out to find Sammy playing solitaire behind the desk. "Bored much?"

Sammy laughed and nodded, "What are you doing down here?"

"Oh, I'm just looking. I haven't had a tour and was just wondering what all was down here."

"Oh! Let me show you around!" Sammy quickly got out from behind the counter and walked her past a giant sitting area with lots of comfy couches and chairs and lots of tables and into some back rooms. "These are meeting rooms for our business tenants, back here is our lounge where we have the piano. I don't know why my dad pays so much to have it tuned, nobody ever plays it anymore."

Serena slowly walked over to the piano and ran her fingers over the glossy wood and then across the keys. She hadn't touched a piano in over two years. Her mother had been a musician and taught her how to play when she was little. Chase thought it was a waste of time so she never played around him, but after she entered the Witness Protection Program, Michelle realized her talent and coerced her to play duets with her - Michelle was an amazing violinist.

"Do you know how to play?"

Serena shrugged and took her hand away from the keys and smiled back up at Sammy. "A little bit."

"Play something! Please??"

Serena shook her head, "Maybe another night."

She saw Sammy's shoulders drop as he sighed and he looked down to the ground. "Nobody has played that piano in the past few years. Not like my mother did, anyway."

Serena's heart broke at the sound of his voice – he sounded so much like she felt on the inside. She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. "I'll come down tomorrow night and play a game of poker with you or something if you're still bored."

Sammy looked downcast but smiled anyway, "Oh, I'm always bored. I don't know why we need a nighttime manager. No one ever needs anything…" He quickly composed himself and straightened, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Serena smiled over at him, "Don't worry, I won't tell your father." She could hear Sammy sigh in relief.

Serena quickly exited the room wishing him a good night. Sammy walked out of the room and looked back at the piano longingly, caught up in memories of his mother. He took a deep breath before turning off the light and shutting the door.

_

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Please R&R!_

_You're all probably wishing you had let me delete the chapter, huh? XD_

_This isn't my best chapter by far, but I promise the next one will be better._


	9. To Dance is to Feel

_Thank you for the wonderful reviews – I really appreciate it. I hope this one will at least be a little better! (Note the little…)_

_Also, I'm sorry it took me so long to update- I had two papers and a final! I still have one final left but that's on Friday so I figure I can get this posted to delay studying XD_

_Please R&R!!!_

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**Chapter 9 - **To Dance is to Feel

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Serena opened her eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling. So much had happened in just the four short days she had been in Florida. She had five wonderful new friends, a beautiful new apartment, she had a smooth transition into her classes and to top it all off she had an adorable kitten. As if Luna could hear her thoughts, Serena was soon joined by a purring kitten.

After she gave Luna the attention that she desperately wanted, she headed off to the kitchen and flipped the coffee pot on. She collected the books she would need and stuck them in her backpack. She was about to include Amy's notes to give them back, but she remembered that she was holding them hostage so that Amy would come to the pool party the next day.

Serena giggled when she heard a knock on the door, "This really is going to be a morning routine, isn't it?" She walked to the door and opened it to find a groggy Mina. "Gooood morning, Mina… Artemis." She said respectively to each of them. Mina just grumbled and headed to the kitchen. Artemis headed towards the back of the apartment to find Luna and Serena followed Mina into the kitchen.

Mina poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Serena as she took a sip of hers. "Ahh…_ Now_ it's a good morning! I'll be back by in an hour!" Serena shook her head as she watched Mina leave the apartment, pausing only to yell at Artemis to behave himself.

When Mina was gone, Serena finished her coffee and headed for the shower. She dried her hair and put a bit of makeup on before picking out a pair of tight tan khaki pants and a white tank top that had a tan design across the stomach of it.

Just as she finished putting her fine long blonde hair back in a barrette she heard another knock on the door. She grabbed her backpack and opened the door to find Mina, wearing the cutest skirt and lacy off-the-shoulder top.

"Aw, Mina! You look fantastic! Why are you all dressed up?"

"Weelllll, there's a really cute guy in dance that I like and I want to impress him! This skirt spins really well, see?" She did a little spin for Serena and she was right, the skirt flowed so gracefully around her.

"Okay, we definitely need to get me one of those."

Mina giggled, "There's a place downtown that sells them. We'll go there before dance tonight and get you a skirt! They have really cute tops, too."

They walked down into the lobby and waved to Ken. As their heads turned back to the front, Serena walked into a man standing in her way.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She looked up to find Darien staring down at her. "What are you doing here?!"

Darien raised an eyebrow, "I live here, Meatball Head. What else would I be doing in the lobby of an apartment building this early in the day?" Serena just rolled her eyes and continued onto the parking garage, hearing Darien's soft chuckle all the way to the door.

"Wasn't that Andrew's friend?"

"Yes, he's so annoying!"

Mina just smiled, "Uh huh… Annoying and downright sexy."

"Personality overrides looks for me." Serena would never admit how attractive Darien was.

They reached Mina's car and drove to campus and waved bye to each other as they headed to their separate classes. Serena walked into the classroom and waved at Amy and went to go sit next to her.

"Oh, Lily, I had such a wonderful time last night."

"So you're happy I lured you into not studying, huh?"

Amy blushed, "Well… I suppose on occasion it wouldn't be too detrimental to my studies."

Serena just shook her head, "You're still coming tomorrow night, right? Remember, I'm holding your notes hostage if you don't!"

Amy laughed, "Of course I'll be there. I do need negotiate their release, after all…"

"I forgot to ask you before you left my apartment last night if you would like to join us for lunch today. I'd like to introduce you to Molly!"

Amy nodded, "Sure! I don't have class from 12:20 to 1:30."

"We're meeting in the Union near the food courts." She was about to say more when the teacher cleared his throat to get the class' attention. When class was over, she gave Amy more specifics and headed to her next class that she shared with Mina.

She smiled when she heard the sound of a familiar guitar. She bent under the tree branch and walked up to a long-black-haired beauty.

"Hey, Raye! Are you joining us for lunch today?"

Raye stopped playing and smiled up at her, "Of course I am, silly."

Serena just smiled brightly and waved, "See you then!" When she got to class, she sat down next to Mina, "Hey, Amy and Raye are joining us for lunch!"

"Oh, awesome! I can't wait until tomorrow night! You have to help me pick out which bathing suit to wear."

The sudden realization hit Serena like a brick. She slapped a hand to her forehead, "Mina, I don't have a bathing suit."

Instead of saying something insightful, Mina just laughed. "Think Mr. T will let you go skinny dipping?"

Serena turned beat red at the thought, "As much as I would love to ask him and find out, I'd rather just go and buy a bathing suit."

"Well, unfortunately seeing as what time of the year it is and all, most stores don't carry bathing suits anymore. But, you're in luck! I have three that I haven't worn yet, and you're welcome to one of them. I'll bring them over after dance so you can pick which one you want."

"Aw, thank you, Mina!"

"Ladies, if you don't stop talking I'm going to have to separate you." They both looked up at the professor.

Serena glanced up at the clock, "I'm sorry, Mr. Logan… Class hasn't started yet so we saw no harm in talking."

Mr. Logan's eyes just narrowed briefly as he walked back to the front of the class. Mina and Serena looked at each other with wide eyes.

After class, they breathed a sigh of relief. "Honestly! We had two minutes! TWO!"

Serena just shook her head, "Has he always been like that?"

Mina nodded, "Yeah, something got shoved up his ass real good."

Serena laughed. The rest of the school day went by mostly uneventful. At lunch, they introduced Molly to Amy and Lita. Serena and Mina tried to steal Lita's lunch because it was bound to be so much better than the one they had purchased. The only way Lita got them to stop was by promising to make lunch for them the next day. Then even Raye and Amy started begging Lita to make them some too. Lita could only eat her lunch in peace when she finally agreed to make lunch for all of them the next day, including Molly who had missed out the night before.

After their classes, Serena met Mina at her car and they drove to the city. "Yay! I'm getting a cute swirly-skirt!"

"There's a brown one with a baby blue design on it that I think would just look amazing on you. I've been tempted to buy it myself!"

"Well, a brown skirt would go well with my shirt and if you're nice, I might let you borrow it!"

"Hey, I'm giving you a bathing suit!"

"This is true… I really do appreciate that by the way!"

"Not a problem, but I think because of that I should get to borrow any clothes I want to for a week!"

Serena giggled, "Not like I have anything you'd want to borrow. I don't own the kind of beautiful things that you do. I could never pull something like that off."

Mina just looked over at her, "Are you kidding me?" She saw the befuddled expression on Serena's face. "Oh my gosh, you're serious!!! This calls for an extreme reality check. Friday night, you are coming over and after I pick what you are to wear, we will go to the dance party and you will see just how wrong you are!"

Serena shrugged, "Sure, if you want. A lot of people show up to this party?"

"More like the entire campus. Not everyone knows how to dance, but there are a lot of people that do and they try and help teach everyone else."

"Sounds like fun!"

They finally got to the store and Serena fell in love with the brown skirt that Mina had told her about. After she tried it on, she decided to wear it out of the store and twirled to the car.

Mina simply laughed at her. "I think I've created a monster…"

"Yes, but a very twirly monster!"

Once they got back to campus, they headed towards the Union and Mina guided them to the back and into the ballroom. There were more people there than Serena would even think to count and she couldn't help but notice the majority of the guys look up and stand straighter when they came in. Mina looked to be in her element, but Serena felt extremely uncomfortable at everyone looking in their direction.

"Mina!" They both turned to see Molly running up to them. "Hi, Lily! I was wondering when you guys would get here."

"And who do we have here?"

The three of them turned to see the dance teacher. "Hi, Mrs. Pone! This is Lily, she just moved here."

Mrs. Pone nodded towards Serena. "Have you danced before, dear?"

Serena stole a quick glance at Mina, "Well… A little bit, but there is still much I have to learn." In all honesty, she probably knew more than Mrs. Pone did.

"Well, then I will pair you with the best man we have so that he can help you catch up to the rest of the class. I will be right back." She turned and walked to the other side of the room.

"Oh my gosh, Lily! You're going to be dancing with Alan!" Molly could barely contain her excitement.

"Who?" Molly was just about to explain when Mrs. Pone came back with the same light brown-haired guy from the day before, followed closely by a brunette clinging to his arm. Serena recognized her as the girl who almost knocked her over and remembered that Alan had called her 'Ann'.

"Alan, this is Lily. She's a new student and I would like you to dance with her so you can get her caught up." Ann looked as if she was about to protest.

Alan sent another side-grin her way and Serena felt her knees going weak. "It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Pone." Ann looked up at him, anger apparent in her eyes but she obviously knew better than to say anything.

Mrs. Pone smiled and then went to the front of the ballroom. "Okay, class. We left off last week with the Waltz, so let's see what you remember! Partner up!"

Alan pulled his arm out of Ann's hold and extended his hand to Serena. She took his hand and looked back over her shoulder at Mina, Molly, and Ann. Ann looked pissed and Molly was excited for her, but one look on Mina's face told her that Alan was the guy she was dressing up for and now she was sad because she wouldn't get the opportunity to dance with him. Serena felt horrible but was pulled to the side of the ballroom and away from the others before she could do anything.

"So, do you know anything in the Waltz?"

Serena looked up at him. "Let's just say I'm a great follower. So if you can lead, then we will be just fine."

Alan narrowed his eyes jokingly, "Is that a challenge?"

Serena smiled up at him, "It's whatever you want it to be."

Alan's grin came back as he pulled Serena into his arms and she gently placed her left hand on his right shoulder and leaned into his right hand that was on her back. Alan could tell instantly that she was no novice at this just by the way she positioned herself in his arms.

The music started and Alan instantly stepped forward with Serena following gracefully. Once Alan confirmed his belief that Serena knew what she was doing, he added more complicated steps and at the end of the song, it looked like they had been dancing with each other forever.

They were brought out of their reverie by Mrs. Pone's voice. "That was beautiful!!! Lily, where did you learn to dance like that?"

She looked over at the teacher and backed away from Alan slightly when she realized the entire class had stopped to watch, "I won't take any of the credit. He's an amazing lead."

Alan shook his head. "Nonsense, a man can only do so much."

"Regardless of that, you two are brilliant together! I'll be interested to see how much more you don't know, Lily..." Mrs. Pone raised an eyebrow and looked at Serena above the rim of her glasses as she turned around and walked off. Obviously, the teacher knew she was being modest before about not knowing much and Serena felt her cheeks burning.

Mina made her way over to them, "Lily, you were amazing!"

"Yeah, I suppose I remember more than I thought." She looked between Mina and Alan and right after the next piece of music started she cleared her throat. "Actually, I need to get a drink. Mina, will you take over for me please?"

Mina's demeanor cheered up immediately as Alan took her in his arms. Mina sent a silent 'Thank you' to Serena as she went off to get a drink of water from the fountain.

She opened the doors to the ballroom and turned around the corner when she ran straight into something hard. She would have fallen onto her bottom if it wasn't for a pair of strong arms coming around her waist to catch her. She looked up into Darien's eyes.

She tried her best to glare at him but the fact that she was inches from his face, had her hands pressed against his chest and his arms were wrapped around her waist, made it difficult to think let alone form an effective facial expression.

"Hello, Meatball Head."

Her eyes narrowed, "Hello, Jerk." She pushed gently against his chest, finding it difficult not to imagine the muscles underneath.

He got the hint and his arms released her, waiting until the last moment to pull his hands away. "Do we always have to meet like this?"

"I agree this morning was my fault, but you are equally responsible this time."

He chuckled, "What are you doing here?"

Serena crossed her arms, "Are you really asking me why a student is in the Student Union?"

A silly side-grin graced his lips and he looked at the door that she came from. "Ballroom Dancing? I knew a Hot Dog could dance, but a Meatball? Now that's something I have to see." (_A.N.: I thought more people would get that, but think back to the dancing movie theater food before the movies started... Telling you to visit the concession stand and to turn off your cell phones... *Sigh* It was way before they discovered special effects... I'm getting old._)

She put her hands on her waist, "Honestly, Darien! Do you have nothing better to do with your time than annoy me?"

He pretended to think a moment, "No, not really."

"Mr. Shields, there you are. We've been waiting for you, the meeting is this way."

They both looked over at a well-dressed man peeking his head out of one of the rooms. Serena smirked while Darien closed his eyes slowly at being caught red-handed.

"Nothing, you say?" Serena just rolled her eyes and turned around to go back into the Ballroom.

Darien stared at her retreating form before chuckling and heading into the door the other man was holding open for him.

For the next couple of hours, Serena tried her best to pretend she knew less than she did. It proved to be a little more difficult than she thought it would be, mostly because the men were such astonishingly great leaders it was hard not to follow accordingly. By the end of the night, they had reviewed the Waltz, ChaChaCha, and Foxtrot. Serena had forgotten how much fun it was to dance and met back up with Mina as they went to collect their purses. She saw Alan making his way towards them when he was intercepted by Ann and dragged in the other direction.

Serena just shook her head and Mina brought her out of her thoughts. "Hey girls, want to stop in to Crown's before we call it a night? I could totally go for some ice cream right now."

Serena and Molly both nodded and they headed out of the Union. When they got outside though, they realized it was pouring down rain.

Mina and Molly looked at Serena's white tank top and Serena blushed as her arms unconsciously wrapped across her chest. "Last one to the parking garage buys the ice cream!" She took off through the rain, followed closely by the other two. By the time they reached the car, they were all soaking wet and laughing.

"Molly, it looks like you're paying!"

Molly giggled and nodded as they all started to ring the water out of their hair and clothes as best they could on their way to the car. Mina opened her trunk and brought out a couple ponchos and spread one in the driver's seat and the other across the backseat. "You two share that one, I am totally not getting my car wet!"

The all piled into the car and made their way to Crown's. Fortunately, Mina had an extra pair of clothes in her car that she said she kept for emergencies and Serena was able to change into a plain black tank top on the way. Serena glanced through the bag that held the spare clothes and found overnight necessities.

"Mina, what exactly is the purpose of this bag again?" Serena raised an eyebrow at her and could swear she saw Mina blushing.

"You never know when you're going to need a change of clothes!" Molly just rolled her eyes and let out a soft 'Uh huh…' before Mina changed the subject, "It'll get wet on the way into Crown's, but at least it won't turn transparent like that white one."

Serena giggled as they pulled into a parking spot, "Thanks. Ready to make a run for it, girls?"

They all nodded and quickly got out of the car and under the protection of Crown's entrance. Andrew laughed at them as they made their way to the counter.

"Didn't you know it was supposed to rain?"

They all shook their heads and took a seat on the stools. Their hair had started to dry and while Molly's hair stayed straight, Mina and Serena's hair started to curl softly, especially the loose hair framing their face that had escaped while they were dancing. The two of them may have resented their hair's natural tendency to curl, but to everyone else it just made them even more captivating.

Andrew retrieved some towels and handed them to the girls, "Want the regular?" Mina and Serena nodded excitedly.

"I'll actually have the Cookies'n'crème this time! And I'm paying." At Andrew's questioning face she continued, "I lost the race to the car."

"Ah, gotta hate that."

When Andrew went off the make their orders, Mina turned towards them. "So have either of you seen the new movie that's out with Matthew Langley? (_A.N.: Not based on a real actor._)"

"OH yes! He's totally hot in that movie!"

Serena looked over, "Are you guys talking about the movie that's based off of that one spy series?" At Mina's nod, "I think they could have picked someone better for the role. In the book it says he's supposed to be in his mid-twenties."

"Matthew is in his mid-twenties!"

"Yeah, but he looks like he's 15!"

"Mmm… Not with his shirt off!"

They all started to giggle when they realized that Andrew was standing on the other side of the counter. "Is it me, or did I come in at a really bad time in that conversation?"

They all turned a different shade of red as they dived into their desserts. They were in the middle of talking about the current television shows that were out when they were interrupted by a deep voice.

"Have you guys not heard of something called an umbrella?"

They all turned around to see a completely dry Darien shaking his head at them.

"Have you not heard of running through the rain and having fun?" Serena turned back towards her ice cream shake and finished it off. Darien came over and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Dare! Want your usual coffee?"

"Yeah, lots of paperwork to do."

Serena turned towards him, "So what exactly do you do in the FBI?"

Mina and Molly peeked over, "You're in the FBI?!"

Darien nodded slowly and he leaned across Serena, appearing to want to talk to the girls sitting on the other side of her. Serena tried to pretend she didn't care by leaning back, but she couldn't help closing her eyes and breathing in heavily when the smell of his delicious cologne reached her nose. "Keep it on the down-low. I can't have too many people knowing, you understand." He winked at them and sat back up in his seat.

The other two laughed and went back to their ice cream as Serena yawned and looked back over her shoulder and outside. "Well, I think it's time for me to call it a night now that it has stopped raining."

"Oh! I still have to drive Molly home, but I can come by your place afterwards to get Artemis."

Serena nodded at her, "That'll be fine! I probably won't be asleep for at least half an hour."

"Night, Meatball Head."

Serena's eyes narrowed as she spun around in her seat to face Darien, but Mina spoke before she could come back with anything to say, "You'll be okay getting back?"

Darien caught a brief look of worry shoot through Serena's expressive eyes. "Yeah, I think I'll be okay. It's right down the street, after all." She got up and said good night to everyone as she headed towards the door.

As Darien reached into his pocket to get his money, he saw Serena stop just inside of the door and realized she might not feel safe walking alone this late at night. Instead of pulling his money out, he quickly stood up and slapped his hand against his forehead, "You know what, Andrew? I completely forgot my cash at home. I'll be right back."

Andrew shook his head, "Nah, don't worry about it. It's not a big de-"

"No, no. That wouldn't be right! Let me just go grab it." Before Andrew could object, Darien headed towards the door. He stood patiently behind Serena for a moment before clearing his throat and reaching around her to underline the sign on the door. "It says 'Push'."

Serena turned around quickly, "I know what it says, thank you very much!" Realizing that Darien's face was so close to hers she backed into the door to open it and walked outside, Darien in toe. She turned towards him and started walking backwards, "What are you doing, following me?"

"Nope, I simply forgot my money at home and that happens to be in the same direction you're heading." Darien's long strides allowed him to quickly catch up to Serena and she turned back around to face the front.

"Why are you so obnoxious?" In all honesty, she was thankful for the company - Even if it was Darien's. After what happened 2 weeks ago, she really wasn't keen on the idea of walking alone at night.

"Because it's fun, of course."

Serena just rolled her eyes as they made their way quietly to the apartment building. A few moments later, they had made it inside and Darien headed to the elevator.

"Hi, Lily! Hey, Darien!"

Darien only nodded in his direction, but Serena stopped to talk hoping Darien would keep going. "Hey Sammy! How are you? Still bored?"

Sammy nodded, "Is the grass green?"

She laughed and turned around to see Darien standing on the outside of the elevator holding the door open for her with his arm, "What floor are you on?"

Serena just looked at him and smiled as she changed direction and headed to the stairs, "I don't take the elevator." She waved sarcastically at him before opening the door and disappearing.

Darien stared after her for a moment, took his hand out of the door to let the elevator close and stuck his hand in his right pocket, pulling out some cash. He turned around and headed back through the lobby. He smiled at the confused look on Sammy's face, "I thought I forgot my money, but I just accidentally put it in the wrong pocket." Darien grinned at him and walked out.

Sammy watched him leave and then thought to himself as he smiled, "I'll have to remember that one…"

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Remember that Emotions Law? If you were smiling, you know what to do!

*Points below*


	10. Pool Party

_Well, my finals are over and I am ignoring the fact that my final grades are posted by writing this chapter! _

_**AngelONight**- I always love your reviews and your input! Let me know if I did better in this chapter regarding Serena's feelings, k?_

_**Whitelight72-** Your reviews made me laugh! I'm so glad someone noticed the Buffy Love!_

**_To everyone else, I want you to know that I SO appreciate your reviews! _**

**_Even if it's just a smiley face and a short comment it makes me feel really good, so please keep them coming! _**

_I also want to thank **Kay R. Greyhelm** for reading through this chapter and giving me her input! _

_PLEASE R&R! _

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**Chapter 10 -** Pool Party!

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The next morning went by as the rest had, Mina dragged herself over for coffee, Artemis and Luna chased each other around the apartment and then an hour later Mina came to get Serena. They had forgotten the previous day to look at Mina's bathing suits for Serena, so they made a plan to do that after classes.

Once on campus, they headed to their first class. Serena went to the seat next to Amy and sat down.

"Morning, Amy!"

When Amy didn't respond, Serena glanced over at her to find her enthralled by a textbook.

"Amy?" Serena poked at her gently.

"Oh! Lily! Good morning."

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, I'm just catching up for that test in a couple weeks. Since I didn't study Tuesday and I won't have time to tonight, I wanted to get studying time in whenever I could."

Serena just shook her head as Amy glanced at the clock and went back to her book. She was going to try to talk some sense into her, but realized there was most likely no point in doing so. When the teacher indicated class was starting, Serena heard Amy sigh and put her book away.

When she got to her second class, Serena spotted Raye and made her way over to her.

"Morning, Lily!"

"Hey, Raye! How was your performance last night?"

Raye got considerably paler, "It was packed. I was so nervous! Will you be able to make it tonight? I could really use the support!"

"Of course I can! At lunch I can ask the girls if they're free, too. I know Amy and Lita expressed an interest in coming to see you. It's at 6, right?"

Raye nodded, "Thanks, Lily. As long as you're there, I will know that I have at least one fan in the audience!"

"Raye, if you performed half as well last night as you did Monday night, I'm certain you have more fans than you think."

Before Raye had the opportunity to respond, someone walked up in front of them.

"Hey, Lily."

They both looked up into Alan's gorgeous eyes. Serena immediately felt heat radiating from her cheeks, "Hi, Alan." Raye looked between them for a moment before clearing her throat. "Oh! Alan, this is my friend Raye. Raye, this is Alan."

Alan nodded his head towards her before putting his attention back on Serena. Raye was quick to note that the smile on his face was not reflected in his eyes. Despite the fact that she hadn't been formally introduced to Alan before today, Raye, along with the rest of the girls on campus, had the tiniest crush on him. However, now after finally meeting him and seeing the look in his eyes, her feelings were immediately thrown out the window. She didn't like him, not one bit.

Serena, on the other hand, was seeing a completely different Alan. She was seeing an attractive and popular man, that knew how to quite literally sweep her off of her feet, and, of course, the fact that he seemed to be interested in her - but she didn't want to form a relationship under the chaotic circumstances of her life.

Although less than 15 seconds had passed, Raye was getting impatient at him just standing there staring at Serena, "Can we help you?"

Alan's irritated eyes darted to Raye's. If it was ever possible for a war to be battled just by simply looking at each other, that's what Alan and Raye were doing.

Serena didn't know exactly what happened, but she tried to step in and calm things down, "Alan, was there something you needed?"

Alan's eyes immediately changed as he looked back to Serena, "Yes, actually. I wanted to see if you're going to the dance party tomorrow night."

Serena blushed and nodded, but before she could say anything a shrill voice punctured the conversation, "Alllaaan! Over here!"

The three of them looked over to see a very irritated Ann waving frantically at the seat next to her. Alan sighed and looked back at Serena, appearing to be very apologetic, "Well, I guess I'll see you there!" Before he left to join Ann he gave Raye a warning glare.

After he was out of ear shot, Raye looked over at Serena and demanded to know what that was about. Not understanding Raye's concern, Serena just shrugged. "He helped me out in Ballroom Dancing Class last night, that's all."

"Lily-" She was about to tell Serena that she didn't like Alan, but she realized she had no good reason as to why and couldn't exactly force Serena not to see him. "Just be careful."

Serena smiled thankfully over at her friend, "I will, I promise. Besides, Mina really seems to like him and if it means her friendship or Alan, I would choose Mina without hesitation."

Raye only had time to smile at Serena's statement before class started. She sat back in her chair and found herself surprised and thankful for Serena's honor-code; it wasn't too often a friend would turn down the captain of the football team simply because another friend liked him. As Raye thought about it, however, she wasn't too thrilled with the idea of Mina chasing after him either. She decided that all she could do is watch out for both of them as her mind finally focused on the lecture.

After Serena walked Raye to her next class, she found herself wandering towards the library - despite the fact that it was there that she had the encounter with Darien on Tuesday. For some reason, she wanted to run into him again. Even though he only walked her home because he forgot his money, by his presence alone he unknowingly saved her from a 5-minute walk in the dark, where she would be looking around corners and being startled by every sound. She felt safe with him around. Serena only wished he didn't know anything about her past, but there was nothing she could do to change that now.

After last night, Serena felt like giving Darien another chance.

"Hey, Meatball Head!"

On second thought, Darien was evil. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him. "I would say 'Hello, Jerk,' but I will be the bigger person and say 'Hello, Darien.'"

Darien smirked at her, "You know, by stating that you won't say something even though you want to, kind of cancels out not saying it, don't you think?"

Serena rolled her eyes and turned around to continue walking, knowing full-well that she wasn't getting rid of him that easy. Sure enough, Darien took a few big steps to catch up with her.

"Where are you off to?"

"The library, I still haven't seen it and something interrupted me from doing so on Tuesday." She was hinting that she didn't want him to mention anything relating to what happened and fortunately for him, Darien took the hint.

"Well, to make up for that interruption, how would you like a tour of the library?"

Serena glanced over at him, wondering why he would offer such a thing. "I'm sure you have better things to do than give me a tour."

Darien didn't hesitate, "No, my class just finished and I don't have anything to do before lunch."

Serena smiled slightly, "No meetings this time, huh?"

Darien flushed as he remembered yesterday and laughed trying to cover for his embarrassment. "No, none right now. So what do you think?"

Serena shrugged, "Sure, if you don't mind."

Darien just smiled, "Well first thing you must know, is that there's more than one library on this campus and none of them, I repeat _none_ of them," he said making sure he had her full attention, "likes to have their books drooled on."

Serena stomped her foot and rolled her eyes, "Darien!" She continued on without him and he laughed as he caught up with her.

"This is Library West, or the Main Library." He held the doors open for her and she unconsciously thanked him. Her eyes were immediately taken in by the most beautiful sight she had seen in a long time: Starbucks. If ever there was a time where a person's eyes could transform into hearts, it would be now with Serena.

"There's a Starbucks… In the library?"

Darien chuckled, "You like coffee, huh?"

Serena looked over at him, "I don't just like coffee, I bleed coffee."

Darien laughed as he pointed to their left, motioning to a study area before stepping around her and getting onto the escalators.

Serena's face crumpled up, "Escalators? Seriously? What do you people have against stairs?" She followed him onto the escalators wondering what else this library had in store for her. At the top of the escalators, she saw a huge study room with many students staring blankly into their computer screens.

Serena started to blush when all of the girls stared in their direction and started to talk quietly with each other. She realized it was due to the fact that she was probably with the hottest teacher on campus and they were jealous.

Serena's eyes went wide and she blushed, 'Hottest teacher? Where did that come from?'

Darien on the other hand, was unaware of the girls paying attention to him. What he was aware of, however, was the attention all of the guys were giving to Serena. He glanced over at her and saw she was blushing. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous as he moved them quickly through the room and into the book part of the library.

"This holds just about all the books you could ever need unless it's specialized to a certain field. Like the College of Law has their own separate library, as do the others."

Serena examined the bookshelves but turned back to Darien with a confused look on her face, "The bookshelves are so close together! How can anyone get the books they want?"

Darien walked around her and pointed to something Serena hadn't seen. There were three buttons, one to move the bookshelf left, one to move it right, and in the middle there was one to stop it.

"No way!" Serena reached out and pushed the button to move the bookshelf to the right and stepped back when it started moving. Then she pushed the left button and watched as it changed course before she pushed the right button again.

Darien quickly snatched her hand away and hit the 'Stop' button. "Stop that, you're going to break it!" He couldn't help but smile when he heard her giggle. "Come on, let's go."

Serena watched as Darien walked between two of the bookshelves and an evil grin came to her face. She pushed the button to make the bookshelf to Darien's left move towards him. Her face fell when the bookshelf didn't move. She kept trying to push the button.

"What are you doing?"

She looked up at him, frustrated. "I'm trying to squish you, but it's not cooperating!"

Darien's face fell into his hands as he tried to conceal his laughter. "There are motion sensors, Lily. Otherwise you'd see on the headlines everyday that a student was killed by a bookshelf."

Serena huffed as she followed him. On the 3rd floor there looked to be an endless supply of computers for students to use and on the 4th floor was another study room. On the left, there were rows of chairs and desks and on the right there were little rooms.

"What's in there?" Serena asked, pointing to the rooms on her right.

"Oh, those are private rooms for grad students and faculty." They continued walking and Darien stopped in front of one, "Because I was gone for so long, this is now my office for the rest of the semester until they can free one up." He unlocked the door and held it open for Serena. She looked around her, hoping that there was another student that would save her from being alone with Darien, but there was nobody in sight.

She sighed and she peered in and saw a desk with a comfy chair and lots of paperwork. She walked in and was startled when Darien let go of the door and it closed on its own accord.

"I just need to get some files for a meeting this afternoon." Darien began to search through all of the papers on his desk as Serena tried to make herself nonexistent in the corner.

Darien knew exactly where the papers he needed were, but he continued his search so that he could buy himself some more time. He had been meaning to talk to her about something for the past 2 days but it never seemed like the right time. He noticed Serena move towards one of the boxes he had in the corner and stand on her tippy toes to see what was inside of it.

Darien couldn't help but notice how her lower back arched and her calf muscles flexed. As her arms reached up, her t-shirt parted from her body to reveal the lower part of her stomach and all he could think about was enveloping her from behind, allowing his hand to sneak under her shirt and travel across her bare skin.

"Darien, what's thi-" Serena gasped when she turned around only to realize Darien was literally right behind her.

Darien blinked a couple times, wondering how he got from the desk to where he was now. He was inches away and with her pinned between him and the boxes, she had no escape. He could easily hoist her up and push her against the boxes… he had the sudden need to see if her lips were as soft as her skin.

Serena looked up at Darien as he stared at her with an intent look in his eyes. At first her eyes darted around, trying to find a way to escape, but when she realized there was no way out she hesitantly looked back up at him. Her breathing fell in sync with the fast beating of her heart and the way he was looking at her made her legs feel weak. She had never wanted to be kissed more in her entire life than she did right then. The way he was staring at her was making her feel things that she hadn't felt since she started dating Chase.

Chase. The thought of him caused her to blink away her emotions. She couldn't trust men with her heart, not after everything that Chase put her through. She broke the eye contact with Darien who then seemed to snap out of a trance and back away from her.

Although the entire exchange happened over mere seconds, it felt like a lifetime. After a short silence, Darien spoke. "I wanted to offer extra self-defense classes to you. Not that you need it, but it's always good to… be prepared."

Serena knew exactly what Darien meant. In case 'it' ever happened again, Darien wanted Serena to be able to take care of herself. However, she knew if she accepted these extra lessons that they would be somewhere together, most likely alone. Although she couldn't deny what her heart felt, she had to listen to her brain: Men cannot be trusted. All men wanted to do was lure you in and then show you their true colors when you least expect it. Her heart told her that Darien isn't Chase, that he's different - He wouldn't hurt me... But her mind reminded her that her heart had said the same thing about Chase. Look where that got her.

"I don't know…"

Darien sighed as he moved back towards the desk, "Just think about it, okay?"

Serena was still trying to figure out what happened, so all she could do was nod as she inched towards the door. "I need to meet my friends for lunch… Thanks for the tour." Serena opened the door and was about to be free when he said the only thing that would make the situation right again.

"Have a great day, Meatball Head."

In that one instant, Serena felt that everything that had transpired in his office was a distant memory. She playfully glared back at him as she headed down the hallway. He would go back to teasing her and she would go back to pretending to be angry. Everything would go back to normal… right?

At lunch, the girls waited rather impatiently for Lita to arrive with the food, especially Serena and Mina. When Lita finally got there, she stopped dead in her tracks. The girls were staring at her, or more accurately the food, with a look of pure need. However, Serena and Mina were the scarier of the bunch, looking as if they might tackle Lita and eat her on accident along with the food. Lita didn't know if she should continue approaching them or drop the food and run for her life.

Raye realized Lita's hesitation and gently smacked Mina and Serena on the back of their heads. "You're scaring her!"

"Ow!" Both of the girls said together and pouted. "But I'm sooooo hungry!" Serena and Mina both looked at each other, realizing they said it in the exact same tone and at the exact same time. As the two of them giggled, Lita decided she could proceed safely and handed the girls their lunch.

All of them ate slowly, except of course for Serena and Mina. Mina didn't even noticed the disapproving looks she was getting, but Serena did and blushed, blaming Lita's amazing cooking abilities. Lita just smiled and Raye rolled her eyes. They discussed going to Raye's concert, and although Amy, Molly and Mina couldn't make it because of work, Lita said she would be there.

Lita turned towards Raye, "Can I bring my cousin? She's been talking about going to The Shrine for a long time now and I'd like to be able to surprise her."

Raye nodded, "Of course you can! The table will be saved under Lily's last name, 'Avery'. I'm so glad you guys will be there!"

Serena looked towards Lita, "How about you drop off the snacks for the party tonight at my place so that we can go to Raye's performance together? Your cousin can even come to the pool party, too!"

Lita grinned over at Serena, "Yeah! That'd be great!"

The next couple hours were filled with classes, so of course they were uneventful. After dropping Molly off at her house, Serena and Mina headed back to the apartment so that Serena could pick out a bathing suit. Mina headed over to her apartment to get them while Serena headed to her own. While she waited for Mina, she was bombarded by two attention-seeking kittens.

Mina had narrowed her options down to two, much too in love with the other one to part with it. The first bathing suit was a pink bikini with black see-through fabric around the edges. Much too sexy for what Serena wanted, but the second one was a simple baby blue bikini that had a tie around her neck and back with the bottom tying on one side of her waist and a brown beaded design on the other side. She immediately fell in love with the second one and watched as Mina snatched back the first one.

"Oh, thank goodness! I wanted to give you more than one choice, but I love this one soooo much!"

Serena giggled, "I'm glad I didn't pick that one then! Thanks again for letting me have the bathing suit!"

"Not a problem! I do have to get to work now, but I'll be back around 7:30 with Molly!"

The rest of the afternoon, Serena played with the cats and thought back to what had happened with Darien. She couldn't help but remember what it felt like to be so close to him, especially today in the privacy of his temporary office. She started getting light headed as the unreleased passion swept through her body. She sat on the couch taking deep breaths, hoping that her mind could restrain her heart long enough for it to come to its senses.

Lita arrived around 5:30, carrying in lots of yummy-looking snacks. Lita introduced Serena to her cousin, Mika – a childhood name that had stuck when she couldn't pronounce her own name 'Michelle' properly. Mika resembled Lita in a lot of ways – right down to the hair and eyes. Except Mika, at 16, looked fragile and delicate, especially standing next to Lita.

Mika was excited about going to The Shrine and didn't even try to hide it. When Raye got on stage she was absolutely fantastic, just as Serena expected her to be. Lita and Mika couldn't believe Raye's talent and when they commented on that fact, Raye just blushed and smiled. When she was done, they all walked back over to Serena's apartment together to change into their bathing suits. Raye wore a black and red bikini, Lita wore a hunter green bikini and Mika wore a dark pink one-piece.

After the others were done changing, Serena went into the bathroom to get into her new suit. She smiled when it fit her perfectly. When she walked out of the bathroom however, she was met with strange stares. "What?"

Lita was the first one to get back her voice, "Serena… What happened?"

Serena looked down to her stomach and realized that just above the waist-line of the bikini was a giant scar arching horizontally across her stomach. It was a constant reminder of how insane Chase would get if he thought she was cheating on him. She had gotten used to the scar and had forgotten to cover it. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to come up with an excuse. Raye somehow realized her dilemma and saved her.

"The silly things we do in our childhood, huh? Check out this scar," She lifted her knee up to show a 2 inch long scar down her right knee.

"Ha! That's nothing, check this one out," Lita lifted up her thick brown hair and turned around to reveal a thick scar resembling a lightning bolt.

Mika put her hands on her hips, "Lita, are you really proud of getting into a fight with a woman that had 10 inch long nails?"

Lita shrugged, "She picked the fight, I just finished it."

Serena and Raye shared a long look of understanding before there was a knock on the door. Serena went to open it and Mina and Molly stood there, already changed in their bathing suits. Mina was wearing an orange bikini that had black ties and Molly was wearing a white open-back-one-piece.

"Hey, girls! We went ahead and changed at my place before coming over here. Lily, that bathing suit looks really goo- Oh…" She also noticed the scar.

Serena had recovered at this point and smiled slightly as she looked down at it, "Funny thing is I don't even remember how it happened."

Raye piped up, "Yeah, we were just showing off our childhood scars."

Mina laughed, "We all know the awesome things we can get into as kids! I don't even remember how I got half of my scars either."

"Who wants to help me carry down the food?" Lita thought it was an innocent question.

"FOOD!" Serena and Mina shouted together as they made a dash to the kitchen.

Lita sighed and yelled after them, "Just make sure some of it's left by the time we get to the pool!"

The girls piled out of Serena's apartment. Raye slowed down while she waited for Serena who was locking the door. When Serena caught up to her, Raye stopped her. "Serena, I just want to remind you that if you ever need someone to talk to… about anything," she briefly glanced down at Serena's scar, "I'll be here for you."

Serena almost wanted to cry again. If she hadn't been carrying so many containers of food, Serena would have hugged her. She only nodded and smiled at Raye, "Thank you… I'll remember that." Raye smiled and started walking again but Serena stopped her. "And… Raye? Thanks for saving me in there."

Raye smiled again and put an arm around Serena's shoulders, squeezing it gently, as they walked to the stairs.

Amy got there shortly after they made it to the pool, she was wearing a dark blue one-piece and Serena was honestly surprised that Amy didn't have a book permanently glued to her face. She made her way over to Amy and handed her the notes. "Thanks for letting me borrow them!"

Amy took the notes smiling, "Anytime! I'm glad I was able to be of assistance. If you ever need help studying, just let me know."

Serena noticed Amy constantly glancing down at Serena's stomach but trying to be polite and not say anything. Serena smiled slightly, "Sorry, I know it's kind of noticeable."

Amy just smiled at her, but she didn't inquire as to what caused it. She had seen scars like that before working at the hospital and knew that it was not her place to ask something so personal.

~*.*~

Darien walked into the lobby of the apartment sighing after a long day at work. It wasn't even the work part that was making the day so long for him – it was what had happened with Lily. He couldn't even concentrate on his meetings because she kept entering his mind. Her endless legs, velvet skin, silk-spun hair, her beautiful eyes and her lips that were bound to be as soft as rose petals.

Laughter interrupted his train of thought and he looked out of the glass windows into the pool area. He almost dropped everything he was carrying. Lily was standing there, in a beautiful blue bikini… her toned stomach, firm bottom and absolutely perfect breasts… Darien took a deep breath trying to control himself, mostly the lower part. He grinned to himself, 'You know… I suddenly feel like a dip in the pool.' He knew it wasn't a good idea to get this close to her, not with the way she was dressed… or not dressed as the case happens to be, but he couldn't help it.

~*.*~

"Smile!" Mika held the camera in front of her face and all of the girls posed for a picture.

Mina had wanted pictures of everything. Of course, Serena guessed that was the way Mina was as she also did that when they were touring the campus. The girls had a blast so far, although they scared many of the other tenants away. The pool was a large rectangle with a 4' wide 10' long cement divider in the middle of it, perfect for using it as a volleyball 'net'. Although Mina always won, as it was her sport, it was still fun to play. They tried Marco Polo but after Mika hit her head on the cement barrier while she was trying to dive for Amy, they decided to move onto something else.

They all stood up from taking the picture when Darien made his grand entrance, "Hey, Meatball Head!"

All of the girls turned to look at him, Lita, Mina and Molly laughed but Amy, Raye and Mika looked confused.

"It's his pet-name for her." Mina whispered to them, fortunately not loud enough for Darien hear.

Serena turned on her to shush her when she crossed her arms and glared at Darien. "What are you doing?" Her mouth dropped slightly when Darien took off his t-shirt, leaving him only in a black swim trunks.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

Serena was at a loss for words. Yes, she imagined he would be muscular… but he was toned in places she didn't even know could be toned. A toned body added to a gentle tan, black hair and those ocean-blue eyes of his…

Mina watched the two staring at each other, remembering the night before when she was certain that Darien had used the excuse of 'forgotten' money, just so he could walk Lily home. After that, she started putting together how he teased her, the comments that Lily had made about him, and how they looked at each other – she realized that one way or another she was going to find a way to get them alone together so that they could 'work out' their differences.

Darien quickly glanced down over Serena's body. The moment he noticed the scar, his angry eyes quickly looked up at Serena's. He's worked in the FBI long enough to know the type of things that cause scars like that. He also knew that if he ever came face-to-face with the person that did that to her, he would surely kill them. No questions asked. Darien felt himself getting angrier by the second when he noticed Serena's hands flew to cover the scar. He promptly cooled himself off as much as he could and simply grinned before running past her, performing a perfect cannon ball into the pool completely soaking the girls.

"Ugh! Darien!" Serena picked up a plastic pool-toy and chucked it at his head.

"Ow! Nice aim, Meatball Head!"

Raye stormed up next to her, "Lily, WHO is that?" Raye was upset because she had been trying to dry off for the last half hour and now she was completely soaked.

"That's Darien." Lita grinned, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" Lita executed another perfect cannon ball into the pool next to Darien.

"LITA!" After being splashed again, Raye was standing there with her fists balled at her sides, her back hunched over and her long black hair flattened against her body as she huffed.

Serena giggled and Raye turned her anger on her. Serena stopped laughing at the look in Raye's eyes and turned as Raye started to chase her around the pool.

"Raye! Lily! You shouldn't be goofing off around the pool! Someone could get hurt!"

They both looked back at Amy before Serena grinned and glanced at Raye, "You're absolutely right, Amy. We'll goof off 'in' the pool!" Serena jumped into the pool, joining Darien and Lita. She never thought Raye would actually jump in after her since she had been making such an effort to get dry, but there was a splash behind her and Serena turned around to stare at Raye for a brief moment before swimming for her life. Her efforts lead her to Darien and she hid behind him. "Protect me!"

Darien laughed and instead pulled her back around in front of him and held onto her, waiting for Raye to catch up. She squirmed in his arms as Raye started to tickle her. She tried to beg for her to stop in between snorts and giggles. When Raye finally stopped, Serena relaxed in Darien's arms. It was such a natural feeling for both of them that they didn't understand why they were getting strange looks from everyone.

Serena was the first to realize it and slipped away from him. They were saved from the awkward moment when Sammy came out to the pool, "Hey guys, I know you're having fun but we're getting a lot of complaints. Think you could keep it down a bit?"

All of the girls blushed in embarrassment and nodded, softly speaking their apologies. Sammy was about to go inside when he spotted Mika. She smiled brightly at him. Mina looked between the two of them and grinned, "Sammy, this is Mika. Mika, this is Sammy." Sammy and Mika both blushed.

Sammy shuffled his feet, "Nice meeting you!" Before she could respond, he made an awkward dash back into the lobby.

Mina giggled, "I think he's just shy. Why don't you go talk to him?" She gently pushed Mika towards the lobby entrance. When she disappeared through the door, all of the girls giggled at how cute it was.

Serena looked around the pool for Darien when it suddenly rained pool noodles on and around her. She looked up to find Darien standing on the side of the pool looking victorious. "You _must_ have noodles with Meatballs!"

~*.*~

Amara stood in the lobby looking completely worn out. She hadn't slept since she got the phone call yesterday and had been up all day trying to think of a way to tell Serena the news. In the end, she decided that it was best just to tell her and get it over with.

For five minutes, she had been watching the normally calm Darien acting like a kid and listening to Serena laugh with her friends near the pool. Although Serena's laugh sounded carefree, Amara knew that, underneath her bubbly exterior, Serena was holding onto her sanity by a single thread. Amara sighed, knowing her news would be like cutting that thread with a chainsaw.

She looked back to the pool. Although she would have to tell Serena eventually, she couldn't bring herself to ruin Serena's night. It would just have to wait.

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**_Please R&R!_**

_I realize that was an insanely long chapter, so I'm appreciative to those who stuck it out! _


	11. A Broken Heart

_Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter._

_This was a hard chapter for me to write, so more than any chapter before this, I want to know what you think._

_Special thanks to Kay R. Greyhelm again for letting me bounce ideas off of her._

_PLEASE review…  
_

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_**Chapter 11** - A Broken Heart  
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The next day, classes couldn't go by fast enough for Serena. All she could think about was the night before and how much fun she had with the girls, and even with Darien. At lunch, the girls decided to all go to the dance that night, all except Amy. Serena tried to talk her into going many times, but figured that twice in one week was probably the most she was ever going to get from Amy when it came to taking a break from her studies.

After classes, Mina dropped Serena back off at the apartment saying that she would be by after she went into work for a couple hours to finish some things up for the week. Serena went into the lobby and smiled at Ken.

"Why, Hello Ms. Avery! How has the first week been for you?"

"Oh, it's been wonderful! I can't believe how quickly it has gone by though!"

Ken grinned, "Having fun will do that to a girl. My son told me you had a pool party last night?"

She blushed, "Yes… Sorry that the noise bothered the other tenants…"

Ken waved off her worries, "I didn't hear anything about it."

Serena raised an eyebrow. Sammy must have neglected to tell him that small detail, probably due to the fact that he was so taken with Mika and he didn't even think to say anything about it. Serena giggled softly. They really would make a cute couple.

Serena skipped up the stairs and into her apartment. She was greeted by Luna and collapsed onto the couch. She scooped Luna up to lay next to her as she thought back to yesterday. Everything with Darien seemed to have happened so quickly. She was certain that if she hadn't reacted the way she had in is office, he would have kissed her. Serena smiled up at the ceiling, absently petting Luna, as she thought about what might have happened in his office had she not stopped him. She was startled out of her reverie when there was a knock on the door. She went to open it to see a grinning Mina on the other side.

"Mina? What are you smiling about?"

Mina walked into the apartment and Serena noticed the bag she was holding behind her back. "I have something for you!"

Serena blinked, "Mina, you didn't have to get me anything!"

Mina nodded, "But you have to close your eyes!"

Serena rolled her eyes, "Seriously?"

"Seriously! Close your eyes!"

Serena giggled as she closed her eyes and then turned around at Mina's request. She couldn't help but smile as she waited in anticipation. When Mina finally let her turn back around, she opened her eyes and gasped.

On top of her mantel were picture frames and inside of those picture frames were various pictures that Mina had taken over the past week. Serena slowly made her way to stand beside Mina. The first picture was of the two of them on campus, when Mina took her for a tour. The second was of them at Raye's first concert, the third was from Tuesday night when they were all over for dinner and the others were from last night at the pool. In the middle, was the group picture that the girls had taken right before Darien had showed up.

Tears formed in Serena's eyes as she put a hand to cover her mouth and looked at Mina.

Even Mina had tears in her eyes but she tried to lighten the mood. "Now that you have us, there's no reason for your apartment to be without pictures anymore."

The tears finally fell down Serena's cheeks and she lunged herself into Mina's arms. Mina smiled and ran a hand gently down Serena's back as a few tears of her own escaped.

Finally, Serena stood and looked at the pictures again. She sniffed, "Mina… Thank you so much. This means more to me than you can ever realize." Mina simply grinned and stood by patiently while Serena stared at all of the pictures. Finally, she smiled brightly and turned towards her friend.

Mina reached forward and grabbed her arm gently, pulling her to the door. "Now, come on. We must get you ready for the dance!"

Serena laughed as she let herself be dragged out of her apartment and Luna followed them out into the hallway and over to Mina's. Mina took her straight into the bedroom to pick out clothes.

After a long 2 hours, both of the girls were finally ready. Mina wouldn't let Serena look into the mirror until she was finished and Serena was nervous about what Mina had done. However, when she finally looked into the mirror, she gasped. Mina had let most of her hair simply fall down her back and frame her face, except for the middle part on top which she brushed directly back and fastened with a barrette.

She had done an incredible job with Serena's makeup and, although Serena felt uncomfortable with a lot of makeup, she couldn't help but admit that it made her look almost… seductive. The outfit Mina had picked out for her was a black skirt that went down to her mid-thighs and a soft brown shirt that tied around her neck and then again around her lower back, leaving the majority of her back open. Thankfully, the shirt came with a heavy cloth that covered her chest and hooked joined in with the fabric, so as not to leave her exposed and made Serena only slightly less uncomfortable wearing it.

Mina shook her head, "Lily, you're a knock out!"

Serena simply giggled and turned herself in the mirror before looking back at Mina, "Oh, but look at you!" Mina was truly a vision with her long blonde hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders. She was wearing a tight pink halter top that had black lace lining the sides and a black skirt that flowed out to her mid-thighs, matching Serena's.

Planning to meet the other girls at the dance, Mina and Serena both grinned at each other as they made their way down to the lobby.

They made it to the party and went to the entrance to see that the others waiting for them. Serena's mouth gaped slightly at how gorgeous Raye, Lita and Molly were. Raye was wearing a tight red silk top that parted slightly at the stomach, showing off her abs and a pair of tight black pants. Lita was wearing a pair of nice dark blue jeans and a hunter green top that fell off of her shoulders, fell loosely around her stomach, and hugged her hips tightly. Molly was wearing a purple dress that tied around her waist and hung to her knees. The purple against her auburn hair and pale skin made a breathtaking combination.

When the five of them walked into the dance room, everyone around them stopped and watched them. Serena blushed under the stares but Mina seemed to thrive on them. Serena had to admit, the four girls around her were drop-dead gorgeous and she felt awkward being around them, certain that she couldn't compare. It wasn't soon after they got there that Alan popped up next to them.

"I must say, ladies. You are the hottest girls here!"

They all blushed and Mina tried to hide her giggle. Raye glanced around, expecting to see the irritating brunette that was constantly at his side. "Where's Ann? Surely she wouldn't let your leash stretch this far without her."

Serena saw his jaw clench before he went back to his good-natured smile and rolled his eyes, "Ann is… sick. She unfortunately won't be able to make it, which means I'm free to make sure you ladies have a great time." He looked at Serena as he said those last words and was about to head towards her when another man slid up beside her and asked her to dance. Alan glared at the man, but instead asked Mina. It wasn't long after that men showed up to ask the other three girls.

The next few hours passed by in a blur for all five of them. They almost never had a break from the dance floor as men seemed to be waiting nearby for the previous song to end before snatching them away for the next song. Serena noticed Raye paying extra attention to Alan who was dancing with Mina. When Alan did try to dance with Serena, Raye had always pulled her away to take a short break and Serena could tell Alan was getting annoyed. However, it didn't seem to be long before Alan recoverd and was back on the floor dancing with Mina. Lita and Molly made their way over to Raye and Serena.

"Oh my gosh, this is too much fun!" Molly giggled as she fanned her flushed face with one of her hands.

Serena noticed that Alan was watching her when she glanced over at Mina. She smiled at him and she saw him pull Mina closer before smiling back. Serena looked at the surprised, but pleasant, look on Mina's face and giggled softly, turning back to the three girls next to her. Serena assumed that Alan had forgotten all about her, especially with how hot Mina looked tonight, and was happy that Mina was finally getting Alan's attention like she wanted.

Alan was getting pissed. That bitch with black hair hadn't allowed him to dance with Lily all night and she had even tried to prevent him from dancing with Mina. Mina was hot, but there was something about Lily that he just had to have. He watched her as she was talking to her friends and saw her look over. He pulled Mina closer to him and could swear he saw a jealous look flash across Lily's face before she turned away. He grinned because he now had a plan - The closer he got to Mina, the more jealous Lily would become and the more jealous she got, the quicker she would be his.

"Okay, so I don't know if you all know this, but Mina's birthday is next Friday and I want to plan something really special for her. Will you all be able to help me?" Molly glanced around the group. All of the girls grinned and nodded excitedly, but before Molly could continue, the song ended and they saw Mina walking over towards them with Alan. "Meet me at Crown's tomorrow morning at 9 and we'll talk about it there."

Mina walked over to them and Serena glanced down at Alan's hand that was placed firmly on her waist. She looked up into his smiling face and wondered briefly what role Ann was going to play in this.

Raye glared at Alan's hand on her waist and took Mina's hand, "We're leaving."

"Oh!" Mina turned around as she kept walking, "Bye Alan! See you next week!"

Serena glanced behind her and saw Alan smile and wave at Mina before looking at her and winking. Serena just simply couldn't understand what was going on and shrugged as she followed the girls outside.

The others went on their way, but Mina and Serena decided to stop into Crown's. Mina claimed it was for ice cream, but Serena knew it was to let Andrew see how she looked.

~*.*~

"So why aren't you doing your paperwork on campus, again?" Andrew placed another cup of coffee down next to Darien's laptop.

Darien groaned, "The dance, remember? I try to stay as far away from the campus on Friday nights as I can. I remember how it was before I left, and I doubt it has changed much. The last thing I need is a bunch of girls following me around everywhere, wanting me to come to the dance."

Andrew chuckled as he went back to wiping the counter. The bell on the door rang and he looked up as two giggling girls walked in. His mouth dropped.

Darien looked up with an annoyed expression on his face when he heard the giggles and saw Andrew's face. "Rita wouldn't be too happy with you if she saw you drooling at college girls, you know." When he didn't get a response from Andrew, he glanced over his shoulder and realized why. He saw Lily and forgot how to breathe.

Mina smiled at both of them, "Hi, Andrew! Hi, Darien!"

Darien heard Andrew's mouth snap shut, "Hey! Girls…, want your usual?" Darien looked over to see a blush creep across Andrew's cheeks. At their nod, he went into the kitchen to make their order. His eyes followed Lily as she came and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Darien. What are you working on?"

Serena's breathing quickened. Darien was looking at her again, just like he had in his office the day before.

Darien gave her a slow lop-sided smile, "Oh, nothing too important, Meatball Head."

They were interrupted when Andrew brought their shakes. "So, did you two girls go to that dance on campus?"

They smiled up at Andrew and nodded. "Yeah, it was a BLAST! There were so many guys there and I don't think either of us had any breaks all night." Mina grinned at him, also paying attention to Darien's reaction.

Andrew stole an amusing glance at Darien. Darien was sure he wanted to say 'Bet you wish you had gone to the dance now, huh?' but he was thankful Andrew kept his mouth shut. Although he couldn't help but feel extremely jealous at the fact Serena had been in the arms of countless men for the past few hours and he hadn't been there. Especially with her dressed like that. He would make sure that didn't happen again next Friday.

Andrew broke through the silence by clearing his throat, "Sounds like you two had fun then! Wished I could have been there. Darien, here, was upset that he couldn't go tonight, but I think he was planning to go next Friday, right?"

Darien's head snapped up to meet his friend's amused gaze, wondering if he had heard his thoughts. "Uh, yeah… Yeah, there was just too much paperwork for me to go tonight."

Serena grinned, "Awesome! Well, I'm absolutely exhausted. C'mon, Mina."

Mina waved at both of them as they headed out. The second they were outside, Mina glanced over at Serena, "Did you see how he was looking at you? I swear he was about to throw you down on that counter and take you right there! Even in front of us!"

Serena blushed furiously, "Mina!" She couldn't help but smile, however, as they made their way back to the apartment.

The next morning, Serena regretted agreeing to meet the girls at Crown's. After being up so late, and with it being a Saturday, she wished she could have slept in at least one more hour. She slugged out of bed and spent five minutes getting ready before heading to Crown's.

When she got there, she saw the girls sitting at a booth and they waved at her. She went and sat down, dropping her head onto the table. Andrew made his way over to them.

"Hey, Lily! Want some coffee?"

Serena picked her head up suddenly, "YES! Coffee!"

Andrew's eyes went wide as he backed up slightly.

Serena calmed down, "Sorry… I just wasn't able to make coffee this morning because otherwise it would have woken Mina up."

Andrew chuckled, knowing the girls were discussing Mina's birthday, and he went to get Lily her coffee. They spent half an hour talking about what they would get her and how they would hide the party from her for the whole week. Andrew suggested her party be held here, in Crown's, and the girls loved that idea. They would celebrate here and then head onto the dance. It was perfect.

Finally, Serena left the group and headed back to her apartment. She crashed on the couch and, despite all of the coffee she had downed at Crown's, immediately fell back asleep. She woke up to a knock on her door and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She made her way and opened it to find a sleepy Mina. Serena yawned, "What time is it?"

"A little after Noon." Mina came in, followed by Artemis, and pushed a cup into Serena's hands. "I figured if you make coffee on the weekdays, I can at least make coffee for you on the weekends." Serena giggled as she took a sip. "Why are you dressed already?"

Serena paused, "Uh, well… I woke up earlier and started to get ready but I guess I fell back asleep on my couch." She sighed thankfully when Mina just nodded.

"What do you want to do today?"

Serena thought about it for a moment, "Absolutely nothing. I don't think I have the energy for anything, today."

Mina laughed and headed to Serena's couch, "I totally agree with you on that one. How about some TV?"

Serena walked over and nodded, sitting next to her, "Sounds excellent."

They flipped through the TV for the next couple hours, laughing as the cats occasionally chased each other around the apartment, before there was a knock on the door.

"Who is that?"

Serena shrugged, "I don't know. I wasn't expecting anybody." She got up and opened the door. "Amara!"

"Hey, Se-" She stopped when she saw Mina's head pop up from behind Serena's, "Lily…"

Serena turned back to the drooling Mina and giggled.

"Mina, this is Amara," she placed a heavy emphasis on the last 'a' of her name, causing Mina's mouth to snap shut, "and Amara, this is Mina."

Amara simply nodded at Mina and Serena frowned slightly, wondering why she wasn't trying to flirt like usual.

"Lily, I need to speak with you. Privately."

Mina took the hint, "I'll go and get ready. Come over and get me when you're done! Artemis!" A white cat popped its head around the corner and Mina motioned for him to follow. She smiled again at Amara and quickly headed down the hallway.

Serena stepped back, allowing Amara to come in, and shut the door. "Amara, what's wrong? Is everything all right?" Serena led them into the living room and Amara sank down in the chair while Serena took a place on the couch beside it.

Amara sighed and looked over at her, "Serena… I wish there was a way I didn't have to involve you… but it's the only way we can get this guy."

Serena frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Amara took a deep breath and started over, "I know it happened over a year ago, and I'm sorry to have to bring it up now, but we caught him Serena. His DNA matched the blood from underneath your fingernails and the only way we can connect him with Chase and... everything else… is if you come and testify against him."

Serena's heart stopped. Breathing was impossible. Her eyes closed tightly as the memories came flooding back.

~*.*~

_Serena walked into the living room and smiled down at the little girl playing innocently with her favorite stuffed bear. She was about to suggest a trip to the park, but she was cut short when her cell phone rang. Frowning, Serena made her way to the table where her purse was and pulled out the phone._

"_Hello?"_

"_SERENA! Thank GOD! Get out of there!"_

"_Michelle? What are yo-"_

"_GET OUT!"_

_Serena's heart started to race. She didn't have to be told a third time. She grabbed her purse and rushed over to the girl. "Ally, come on. We're going on a trip!" She kneeled down and scooped the girl up before rushing out of the apartment towards the closest flight of stairs. It took all of the strength she had in order to remain calm, trying not to panic the girl in her arms. _

"_Serena, I'm on my way. I will meet you at the exit on the south side."_

_Serena nodded absently to Michelle over the phone, "We're on our wa-" Her stomach lurched as she skidded to an abrupt halt. The door to the staircase opened to reveal two of Chase's men that Serena knew all too well. There was a momentary stand-off before Serena turned and ran. She held the girl close to her as she fled to the North staircase. "Michelle, they're here!" _

_She flung open the door to the staircase, but was unable to juggle the girl in her arms, the door, and the phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear. She watched as the phone fell down the two flights of stairs and only had time to yell 'North staircase!' before the phone shattered into pieces on the cement. _

_Without wasting anymore time, she flew down the stairs, hoping Michelle had heard her. She burst through the door at the bottom of the staircase and looked around for any sight of Michelle. Hearing the footsteps of the two men behind her, she took off down the sidewalk. Tears that streamed down her cheeks went unnoticed by Serena as she tried to think of a place to hide._

_She breezed around the corner only to come face-to-face with Chase and Mark. She stopped dead in her tracks, holding the girl's head tightly to her shoulder. She started to turn around and run the other way but the other men had caught up to her. _

_Chase sighed, and Serena couldn't help but note the irritated expression on his face. "If you come with us quietly, no harm will come to her." She saw him motion to the girl in her arms._

_Serena glared at him through her tears, "Would you honestly hurt your own daughter?"_

_Chase blinked slowly and looked at her through narrowed eyes, "That's really up to you, isn't it?"_

_Serena briefly glanced down at the confused girl, thankful that she was too young to truly understand the words that were being spoken. She held the girl tighter as she tried to think of a way out. She and Chase stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The look in his eyes told her that he was daring her to try and run. Finally, seeing that she wasn't going to run, he pointed at the car that was parked on the street next to them and one of the men went to open the back door. _

_She took a quick glance around again, looking for an escape, but realized that they had formed a tight circle around her. She had no choice. She hesitantly climbed into the car in front of her. Her heart broke at the thought of the girl in her arms being in the hands of this monster. She had to find a way to get out - If not for her sake, then for her daughter's. _

_She lost track of how long they were driving. Chase was seated next to her and failed to start a conversation with her many times. He finally reached over and brushed some hair out of her face that had stuck to her dry tears. She jerked and glared at him, but she saw him look down at the girl in her arms and then look back up at her with a devilish smile plastered onto his face. She knew all too well what that look meant: 'Resist and suffer the consequences.' And what consequences would be greater than hurting her child?_

_They finally arrived at their destination and Chase took her roughly by the arm as he pulled her out of the car. She stumbled and her grip tightened on her daughter as she was about to fall. Before she could hit the ground, however, two arms encircled her gently and set her back on her feet. She looked up into Mark's eyes as he smiled at her._

_Serena couldn't help but feel relieved by Mark's presence. Mark put his face in front of Ally's and started making funny faces, causing her to giggle. Serena smiled, despite her situation._

_Mark smiled at Serena. "Well, fortunately for her, she got her looks from you."_

_Chase, however, was less than amused and shoved Mark aside as he grabbed onto Serena's arm again and pulled her along into the house. Well, house wasn't exactly what Serena would call it, as it was more like a large cabin. She looked around and noticed they were quite literally out in the middle of nowhere. She only hoped that the tracer she carried in her purse, hidden as an innocent pen, allowed Michelle to find her quickly. Serena knew that Chase wasn't going to waste any time trying to get her back like he did last time. _

_Now, his mission was to simply kill her in order to prevent her from testifying against him. He had promised her as much last time. Serena didn't care what happened to her as long as she knew her daughter was safe and she knew that wouldn't be possible until she got Ally as far away from Chase as possible. She took a deep breath, ready to hold on as long as she could until she found a way out. She HAD to find a way out. It wasn't only her life at risk now._

_The inside was a little more hospitable than Serena thought it would be and she did her best to keep her feet underneath her as Chase dragged her along to a room in the middle of the cabin – She quickly noticed that there were no windows. Her hopes sank when she saw that the only way out of this room was the door and knew it was likely to have someone guarding it._

_He shoved her in and she turned on the balls of her feet quickly so that she was the one that collided with the wall and not her daughter. Ally started crying by the sudden movement and Serena did what she could to quiet her. _

_Chase smiled at the little girl before looking to Mark, "Would you take care of my beautiful Alyson for a moment? Her mother and I need to… speak privately."_

_Serena's gut clenched and she locked her arms around Alyson's body. She was not going to let her baby out of her sight. Mark went to get her but Serena rotated her body so that he wouldn't get a good angle. "No! She's not leaving me!"_

_Chase calmly came over and kneeled next to her, running his hands through Alyson's strawberry blonde hair. "Now, Serena. You don't really want our little baby girl to witness your punishment do you?"_

_Serena glared at him, "Punishment? We both know you plan to kill me, Chase. You said so yourself."_

_Chase glanced back at Mark,"Nonsense. I only want to show you how much I have missed you." He took her arm and lifted her up. She resisted, but Mark was finally able to pry the girl from Serena's grasp._

"_No, Alyson!" Serena went to lunge for her daughter but Chase wrapped a strong arm around her waist to prevent her from doing so. _

"_Don't worry, I'll make sure no harm comes to her." Mark tried to reassure her._

_Serena snickered, "Just like you're making sure no harm comes to me!" _

_Mark looked ashamed for almost a minute before he backed out of the room and closed the door. _

_Serena tried to get away from Chase but his arm was firmly planted, preventing her from doing so. She rotated in his grasp to look up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. He was smiling down at her, almost lovingly. "You can do all you want to me, but Mark won't let you kill me."_

_Chase smirked, "Mark won't 'let'? My dear, dear Serena… Mark can't prevent me from doing anything." He pushed her onto the bed and kneeled down next to her on the mattress. "Don't worry, you won't die just yet." He put his hand on her leg and slowly slid it underneath her skirt. "I have missed you…"_

_Serena grunted in disgust and pushed his hand away only to have the back of his hand meet with her cheek. She let out a cry and put her hand up to cover her soon-to-be bruised skin as she looked back up at him. _

"_Remember what will happen if you refuse...?" Serena heard the innocent giggles of her little girl drift through the closed door._

_If she didn't give in, he was implying that harm would come to her daughter. Whether or not he really would do anything to Alyson, she didn't know. What she did know, however, was that she couldn't risk her daughter on a 'maybe'. She put her hand back down to her side and turned her head towards the wall, "Get it over with."_

_She could see Chase grin and she flinched as he reached up to run the back of his fingers along the side of her cheek and down her neck. A tear slipped down her cheek as his other hand slipped under her skirt._

_Serena didn't know how much time had passed, but when Chase was finally finished with her she found herself on the floor next to the bed, shirtless with her skirt pushed up to her waist. Her panties lay across the floor and her entire body felt like she had been hit by a train. She pulled her knees slowly to her chest, wincing at the pain in her hips. _

_Chase smiled down at her while he put his own clothes back on. When he was finished, he kneeled down and gently put a hand to her bare and bruised leg. "Now, I'll bring Alyson back in for you to say goodbye. Mark and I will be back for her just as soon as… well, as soon as you're taken care of." _

_She looked up at him for the first time, not caring if he saw her tear-stained face. "You would let her watch me be killed?"_

_Chase grinned, "What other way to come back in and be the savior? She's old enough to know good from bad. Don't worry, I will take care of her and love her."_

_Serena almost laughed, "Like you loved me?"_

_His grin only widened as he got up, "Get dressed. You don't want her to see you like that, do you?" He walked towards the fireplace and threw the used condom in the fire with the others before he left the room. After the door shut, Serena crawled towards her shirt and panties, despite every part of her body screaming at her not to move. After putting her clothes back on, she looked up to see Mark come in the room, carrying Alyson._

_Serena let out a cry and reached for her, accepting Alyson into her arms and holding onto her tightly. She couldn't prevent the tears any longer and her back racked with quiet sobs. _

_Mark knelt down next to her, "Are you all right?" When she didn't respond, he sighed. "Look, Chase is just angry. You and your daughter will be fine so long as you cooperate." When she still remained unresponsive he got up, "I'll bring you both some food." He returned a few moments later, but quickly left again and shut the door._

_When she was finally alone, Serena forced herself up, using the bed as support. She moved slowly to retrieve the bed cover that had been discarded onto the floor and put it back on the bed, covering up the evidence of what had happened. She gently laid Alyson down on the bed and brought the food over. Although she didn't feel like eating, she knew the only way she would be any use to her daughter is by staying strong._

_Mark had brought bread, soup, and water for her and rice cereal for Alyson. She saw her daughter's violet-blue eyes light up at the sight of food and a grin spread across her face as she clapped her hands. After receiving the first round of cereal, Serena couldn't help but smile as she watched her daughter wiggle back and forth in anticipation for the next spoonful._

_Only after Alyson was taken care of did she look after herself. Once she finished eating, Serena put the dishes to the side and took Alyson into her arms once again, kissing her forehead. Alyson reached up and gently stroked the newly formed bruise on Serena's cheek. Serena started to cry as Alyson extended her neck and placed a soft kiss on the bruise, copying what Serena did for her when she was hurt. Serena smiled down at her and realized that kissing it really did make the pain go away._

_Her thoughts were interrupted by her daughters yawn, and Serena sniffed as she adjusted herself down on the bed and snuggled Alyson against her stomach. Although Serena would never be able to sleep herself, she gently hummed a soft melody and listened as Alyson's breathing evened out and she drifted peacefully to sleep. _

_Every time there was a sound outside of the door, Serena's body tensed. She didn't know how much time had passed before the door finally opened again. Chase, Mark, and a third man stepped into the room. Serena forced herself up, wincing at her body's resistance. She let Alyson remain sleeping on the bed as she faced the intruders._

_Chase leaned down until his face was inches from hers, "Mark and I are going out for a bit…" He stole a glance at the third man standing against the wall and turned back to Serena, "He'll make sure you're… safe." _

_Serena internally screamed, knowing that Mark couldn't stop anything from happening if he wasn't nearby. _

_Chase brought his lips closer to her ears and whispered privately. "Don't worry, I will be back for her. And when she's all grown up, I'll make sure to tell her how wonderful her mother was." Chase smiled at her as he backed away, turning to look at the man leaning against the wall. "Make sure 'nothing' happens to her while we're gone."_

_Her heart was racing as she watched Mark and Chase leave the room. Serena suddenly rushed off the bed and towards the door, "MARK! Don't-" but her words were cut off as the man clamped a hand on her mouth and the door shut. The commotion caused Alyson to wake up and she started crying, upset that her nap had been interrupted. _

_The man threw Serena back towards the bed and she collected her crying daughter into her arms. She quickly retreated to the back of the room. The man simply watched her for a long time, probably waiting for Chase and Mark to get far enough away. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he started walking towards her. She held onto her daughter tightly as the man tried to rip her from Serena's arms, but in the end he succeeded and Serena cried out as she was taken from her. In the absence of her mother's arms, Alyson again started to cry.  
_

_She watched, holding her breath to make sure Alyson wasn't harmed. The second the man set her down in the large chair Serena jumped onto his back, clawing at his face. The man screamed and reached up to grab her arms as he was knocked off balance and they both went crashing to the floor. Serena did her best to ignore the pain that the fall caused on her already injured body and got to her feet quickly, smirking when she realized that she left four large, bleeding scratch marks on each side of the man's face. _

_He growled angrily and stormed towards her. Serena chucked the dishes at him, but he managed to dodge them, causing the dishes to shatter on the wall behind him instead. Serena tried to search out for other objects to throw, but she was finding it hard to focus when she desperately wanted to go console her crying daughter. She tried to swerve around him, but he grabbed her hair and shoved her against the wall._

_His face was inches from hers, "The boss said to get rid of you, but he won't return for awhile… There's nothing stopping me from getting a little more pleasure out of this situation…" _

_Her eyes went wide as he grabbed her breast with his large hand and squeezed. With all of her strength she pushed against him, forcing him away from her and brought her knee up into his crotch. He backed away from her suddenly and bent over, shouting curses. Before she could get too far, however, he was back up and reaching for her. He grabbed her around the waist and threw her hard into the bookshelf._

_Serena watched in horror as the bookshelf toppled over and rotated as it hit the back of the chair and landed directly on top of it. Her daughter's cries stopped immediately. _

"_NOO!" She choked a sob as she reached for the nearby lamp and swung it at the man's head, pulling the plug from the socket roughly and knocking the man off of his feet. Serena ran to the chair. With all of the strength she had left, she hoisted the bookshelf up and pulled the limp body of her daughter out. _

_She started crying out of relief when she realized her daughter was still breathing, Serena stole a glance at the man groaning on the floor before she ran to the door. The rest of the cabin was empty and she dashed to the front door when she heard cars drive towards the cabin. She looked out the window and saw Michelle get out of a car and run towards the house. She noticed the other cars in the driveway as well, but then Serena saw the only thing that gave her any hope._

_Serena cried loudly as she fled the house and ran towards the ambulance._

"_Serena! We tracked you through the-" Michelle called out, but she went ignored as Serena ran past her._

"_My baby! Please, my baby!" Serena could barely get the words out between her tears as two paramedics rushed forward and took Alyson from her arms. They placed her on the stretcher and Michelle started to look after Serena's wounds. _

_"Are you all right?" _

_Serena didn't respond, however. All she could do was watch the paramedics as they rushed around trying to rescue her daughter. _

_She saw one of the paramedics shoulders sag as he stopped the efforts of the other and looked towards Michelle and sighed. He then looked Serena in the eyes and she stared at him, shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no…" She backed away from Michelle's grasp and into the side of one of the parked cars. One arm went around her stomach while the other went to her chest, over her breaking heart. Her knees buckled and she screamed as she sank to the ground, never taking her eyes off of her daughter's lifeless body._

_~*.*~_

Serena didn't know how long she had been sitting there, staring at nothing, but she stirred when Amara put her hand on her leg. She blinked and realized she had been crying.

"Serena, I'm so sorry for bringing this up… but you need to come with me tomorrow so that we can be in court for the hearing first thing Monday."

She looked over at Amara and nodded slowly.

"Are you going to be okay…?"

Serena tried to blink back more tears that were threatening to fall as she stood. "I'll be fine. I just want to be alone right now."

Amara watched her for a moment longer before nodding and walking to the door. She turned back and reached out to take Serena in her arms. "I'll be back tomorrow around Noon to take you to the airport."

Serena sniffed and nodded as she watched Amara leave. She shut the door and locked it, leaning against it for support as she sobbed quietly. After a moment, she walked towards the bedroom and dropped to her knees next to the bed. She leaned forward and grabbed at the box she had hidden underneath, her fingernails clawing to pull it out. She finally succeeded and opened it.

Inside of this box is where she kept the things from her past that she couldn't part with. On top of everything lay her daughter's stuffed bear. She picked it up, holding it tightly as she let out a hopeless wail and collapsed onto the floor. For a year she had tried to be strong and bottle up the pain she was feeling. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

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_Can I cry about my own story?_

_Please review… Remember that Emotions Law I've been mentioning?  
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_I desperately want to know what you all thought._


	12. Finding Courage

_I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, (you get the idea) sorry that it took me so long to update._

_I have had an unbelievable amount of things come up the past month, but here is the next chapter! Thank you for your patience! _

_An absolute **HUGE** thank you goes out to my awesome beta, AngelONight. _

_Please Review! I like to know what you think!_

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**Chapter 12** – **Finding Courage**

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"Serena, wake up."

Serena didn't remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes, a harsh light was shining through the window and Amara was kneeling next to her.

"What time is it?" Serena sat up and winced at her stiff body while she tried to blink away the burning in her eyes. Serena looked around her to see pictures of her past strewn across the floor. She had been up most of the night looking through them and trying to remember a time when the only things she had to worry about were school and friends. Although part of her wished she had never known Chase so that she could have possibly led a normal and happy life, a bigger part of her knew that a life without Alyson, even for a short amount of time, was barely a life worth living. And without Chase, there would have been no Alyson.

The best things really do come from the worst times.

"It's a little after Noon." Amara had to admit that when Serena hadn't answered the door, she had gotten worried. Serena didn't seem like the type that would take her own life, but with the things she had been through, Amara wouldn't be surprised if the thought had crossed her mind once or twice.

Serena picked up a picture of Alyson's first birthday. Through the grin on Alyson's face, she could almost hear the innocent giggling of her happy daughter. Serena didn't look up when she asked the question that had been plaguing her. "Amara… what if I can't convince the judge?" Her voice was nothing more than a haunted whisper.

Amara laid a hand on her arm as a concerned expression spread across her face and her eyes noticeably softened. "Serena, don't worry about convincing him. Just tell him the truth and let the evidence do the rest." She stood slowly and held out a hand to help Serena up.

Serena nodded and forced herself to smile as she accepted Amara's extended hand. She let out a tired sigh as she was pulled to her feet, "What time is the flight?"

"1:53, so we have to hurry. You go take a shower and I will make you something to eat."

Two hours later, Serena and Amara were on a flight to Washington. Serena had wanted to tell Mina that she was leaving so that she could look after Luna for her, but Amara thought it had been best to just give Luna enough food and water for 2 days. Amara's reasoning was that Mina would just ask her too many questions about where she was going – and knowing Mina, that's exactly what she would have done.

Serena sighed. She wouldn't deny that she was terrified to be going back, but it was something that needed to be done. And if she couldn't find courage to stand up for herself, then she would have to find the courage to stand up for her daughter.

~*.*~

Mark took a sip of his coffee and turned the page of the newspaper to the sports section as a man hurried into the room and headed towards Chase's office. Mark lifted his head and frowned, "Max? Where do you think you're going?"

A look of disapproval replaced Mark's frown as he stared at the young man in front of him. Barely out of his teens, Max had only been working for Chase a little under a year and Mark couldn't recall more than one occasion where the two had actually crossed paths. Although he had a promising future ahead of him, Max was delirious if he thought that he could simply stroll into Chase's office to speak with him without being summoned.

Max looked back and forth between Mark and the closed door at the far end of the room, with a huge grin displayed on his face. "I have important information for Chase. Is he in?"

"No, he left an hour ago and won't be back for awhile." Max's grin faltered, but Mark continued. "What is it that you wanted to tell him? If I think it's important enough, I'll call him myself."

Max shook his head, "No. I'm getting the credit for this one."

Mark's brows furrowed, wondering what information Max could have obtained that could possibly be of any interest to Chase. "Of course, what good will I get out of it?"

Max nodded, understanding what he meant. Mark was Chase's right-hand man and already had his trust. Although he hadn't planned on telling anyone other than Chase, he knew that Mark was fair and honest. If Mark said he wouldn't take the credit, then he would be as good as his word. Max rushed over and took a chair beside Mark. "You have to promise me that I'll be the one that gets to tell Chase."

Mark folded his newspaper and set it to the side of the table. "You have my word. Now, what is it?"

Max's grin widened, thankful that he could finally tell someone. "I was talking to Frank's lawyer and he told me that he just got a fax saying that there was another witness. And they're adding a manslaughter charge against Frank. He didn't know the identity of this witness, but he knew it was a girl. What other girl could it be other than Serena?" He let out a self-satisfied smirk before he continued. "Frank told me that he was supposed to kill her and she was the only one of Frank's victims that ever got away. And the new manslaughter charge fits because of the kid. But if I'm right, this means that Serena will be in town _tomorrow_ to testify before the judge."

A worried look flashed through Mark's eyes before a slow grin spread across his face. "Chase will be very pleased. Have you told anyone else about your discovery?"

Max shook his head quickly, "Of course not! The lawyer didn't even know what was going on. I just wanted to tell Chase before the idiot opened his mouth again and told someone else."

Mark nodded and glanced briefly at Max's shoes, "This kind of news isn't something I want to tell Chase over the phone. C'mon. I'll take you to him." They hurried out of the building and got into Mark's car. "He said he would be out by the river taking care of some business so we'll meet him there. I can't wait to see the look on his face."

Ten minutes later, Mark's car was parked in between a shipment of crates and an old warehouse. They both got out of the car and walked to the deck. Mark glanced around while Max fidgeted anxiously, obviously very eager to share his news with Chase and gain his approval.

"Where is he? I thought you said he wou-", Max breathed in suddenly when he felt cold metal pressing against his temple. His entire body stiffened. "Mark, what are you do-", but before he could finish the sentence, a pressured shot was heard in the air. A look of shock and pain crossed Max's face before his knees buckled. As Max went limp, he fell to the side and toppled over the deck.

Mark took a few steps to the edge and peered down, watching as Max's body quickly sank beneath the surface of the river. He tucked his gun back in his belt and turned around before he started to walk back towards his car. Mark smirked as he pulled out his sunglasses, "Steel-toed boots aren't a drowning man's friend." He shut the door behind him and put his car in reverse. Once he got back on the road, he adjusted his sunglasses and stole a glance into his rearview mirror at the river disappearing behind him before settling his eyes once more on the road. He had one more stop to make.

~*.*~

"Lily?" Mina waited a moment before knocking again, harder this time. "Are you home?" After another moment Mina sighed and headed back to her apartment. Although it wouldn't explain why Lily hadn't answered her door last night or why she wasn't answering her cell phone, Mina assumed that since it was already so late in the afternoon that Serena would be across the street at Crown's.

"Mina, this is what you get for being knackered enough to sleep until 3 in the afternoon. People wake up and go have fun without you. I think it's time to get an alarm clock. Oh stop chatting yourself up and get dressed." She rolled her eyes at herself and headed to the bedroom.

Half an hour later, Mina walked into Crown's and looked around before heading to the counter. "Hey, Andrew, have you seen Lily?"

Andrew shook his head, "Nope, I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Mina frowned and sat on a stool. "She's not home and she's not answering her cell phone. I wonder where she is."

Andrew noticed the look of worry on Mina's face and, although he knew Lily was probably out with the girls shopping for Mina's birthday, he didn't want to leave her worrying. "Maybe she's with the other girls and they didn't want to wake you up?"

Mina thought about it for a moment, "You think so?" At Andrew's nod, the look on her face changed from worry to sadness and a pout formed on her lips. "They didn't even try to call me?"

Andrew winced at her dejected tone as he tried to make himself look busy. "Uh, maybe they're out… doing something important… and maybe it was, um, last minute and they were going to call you later, I'm sure because that's what friends do and they're your friends and care about you a lot." He tore his attention away from fidgeting with the ice cream machine and smiled nervously at a customer entering the restaurant.

Mina just stared at him and raised an eyebrow at his speech. "Andreeeew… you wouldn't happen to know anything about this important thing they are doing, would you?"

Andrew's eyes shot briefly to hers as he shook his head quickly, turning back to the ice cream machine and placing a bowl below the lever as he pulled on it, "Nope. Not a thing. Not a thing at all." He brought the bowl over to Mina and set it down in front of her, "Ice cream?" He saw Mina narrow her eyes and he gulped, his hand hesitating on the bowl before pulling it away. "No ice cream then. How about some coffee? Yes, coffee. You like coffee." Andrew turned and tried to make a run for it but before he could take more than a step, he stopped at a noise behind him.

Mina slapped her hands down on the counter and leaned forward. "Andrew! What's going on?"

He cringed and turned back slowly. He was always bad about hiding secrets… "Okay, so maybe they're out planning something special for a certain day that's coming up."

Mina's eyes went wide, "My birthday! They're going to throw me a birthday party!" Mina grinned and sat up straighter, "Well, I wouldn't want to disturb them then, now would I?"

Andrew rolled his eyes, thankful that her interrogation-face was replaced by a happy smile. He wiped a nervous hand across his forehead, not surprised to find a few beads of sweat. "Now do you want coffee?"

"Yes, please! And since you already made that delicious looking bowl of ice cream…"

~*.*~

It was early in the evening when Amara checked them into the hotel. They headed upstairs to their room and Amara opened the door for her. Serena walked in and looked up when she saw movement. Serena let out a soft cry as she dropped her bag and ran into Michelle's open arms.

Michelle held her tightly, gently stroking her hair. After a moment the two pulled away from each other, neither with a dry face. Michelle looked Serena over quickly, "Did everything heal all right?"

Serena forced a smile, "Everything on the outside."

Michelle nodded slowly, understanding that the wounds Serena had suffered on the outside barely touched the wounds she had suffered in her heart. Michelle took Serena's hands and led her over to the couch and sat her down. "So, Amara filled me in on some of it, but tell me what's been going on since… since I last saw you."

Serena smiled at the thought of her new friends. On her way past the couch, Amara bent down and placed a soft kiss on Michelle's forehead before taking a seat on the chair next to her. Michelle smiled lovingly over at her before returning her attention to Serena. "Tell me everything."

~*.*~

It was late Sunday night before her cell phone rang and Mina went to pick it up. "Hey, Raye!"

"Hey, Mina. Do you know where Lily is? We've been trying to call her all day and she hasn't answered her cell phone."

Mina's heart skipped a beat with worry, "No… I knocked on her door around 3 this afternoon but she wasn't there. I went over to Crown's and Andrew hadn't seen her… I just assumed she was with you guys."

"No, we haven't seen her either… We just got to Crown's, are you where you can join us?"

A few minutes later, Mina slid in next to Raye at a booth, across from Amy and Lita.

"Mina, you really have no idea where Lily is?"

Mina shook her head, "No…"

Raye sighed, "Well, she did just move here. Maybe she met somebody on Saturday and is hanging out with them today. We can't expect to be her only friends."

"Then why isn't she answering her phone?" Lita asked strongly, shaking her head. Even though she had only known Lily for a few weeks, it just wasn't like her to up and leave without saying anything.

Amy's brows creased with concern as she numbly focused on the cup in front of her, "I don't know, but I'm sure she'll be back by tomorrow." Amy looked up at the others with a confident look on her face, "I mean, after all it is a school day and school is important." When she noticed the others rolling their eyes, she sighed and took another approach. "Besides, she's an adult, I'm sure she's fine."

Mina smiled, "I'm sure you're right." She pursed her lips together. "But I'm still going to get onto her about not answering her phone and worrying us though."

Lita smirked, "Get in line for that one." Amy and Raye nodded their agreement.

The next morning however, Mina failed to wake up early enough and was running late. On her way to the stairs, she knocked on Lily's door. "Lily?" She knocked again but when the door remained closed, she sighed and hurried to her car. All she could hope for was that Lily would be waiting for her in the Union at lunch, but when she got a text message from Amy saying that Lily wasn't in her first class and she saw it for herself first-hand when Lily didn't show up to her second class, Mina's heart felt heavy.

When Mina got to the Union, she found Amy and Raye talking seriously while Lita paced.

Raye looked up, "Mina when is the last time that you saw Lily?"

"On Saturday. We were going to watch some TV and then some girl knocked on her door and said that she needed to speak privately with her."

"What do you remember about this girl?"

"Well, to be honest, she looked like a man. But sh-"

Lita cut her off, "A man? Tall with dark blonde hair?"

"Yeah! Lily said her name was Amara. You've seen her?"

Lita nodded, "Yes… Lily introduced me to her last Tuesday when she walked her to the Self-defense class."

Raye frowned, "You don't think that this Amara would hurt her, do you?"

Lita shook her head, "No, I don't think so... They were laughing with each other and Lily said that she was a childhood friend."

Amy let out a frustrated sigh, "Well, I think we should call the police. This just isn't like Lily." With the other girls in agreement, Amy pulled out her phone and called. After arguing with an officer for five minutes, she hung up and threw the phone on the grass next to her with a huff.

Despite the situation, the others raised their eyebrows at the usual shy Amy expressing her anger.

Lita glared at the phone, "He didn't believe you, did he?"

Amy shook her head, "He said that Lily is an adult and a college student. So despite the fact that we haven't seen her since around 3 pm on Saturday, he's not going to do a damn thing about it."

The conversation was interrupted as Alan strolled up and put his arm around Mina's waist, "Hey there gorgeous. What's with the frown?" He looked around, expecting to see another beautiful blonde. "Where's Lily?"

Mina shrugged and leaned against him, "We don't know… We haven't seen her since Saturday."

"Oh, well I'm sure she's all right." Alan sighed to himself. Since Lily wasn't here, there was no reason to put up pretenses in liking Mina. He shrugged Mina off and stuck his hands deeply into his pockets, tossing a grin at the other girls. "Well, I just wanted to stop in and say 'Hey'… So, I'll see you later." Without waiting for a response, he turned and wandered away with his shoulders slumped slightly.

Mina frowned after him but turned her attention back to the other worried girls.

~*.*~

Amara ceased her pacing of the judge's chambers and threw an irritated glance up at the clock, "Where is he?"

The judge shook his head, "I'm not sure, but if a representative of Mr. Downs isn't present, I cannot hear Ms. Thompson's testimony."

A moment later, a man burst into the chambers. "I apologize for being late, but Mr. Gibson couldn't make it, as he's in the hospital. I'm Brad Wisley, and I will be taking over representation for Mr. Downs."

Serena looked over and saw a man that appeared to be in his mid-thirties wearing a slick grey suit. She watched as he set his briefcase on the chair and unlocked the latches to retrieve some papers.

The judge nodded, "Will he be all right?"

Brad stood back up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and shook his head slowly, "No, sir. It appears that he lost control of his car. He's in surgery right now and they don't believe he will survive."

The judge sighed, "This rain makes the roads so slick. I take it you have reviewed this case?"

Brad nodded, motioning to the papers in his hand. "Yes, just briefly before I got here." He hurried into a seat and ran a hand through his thick brown hair.

"Well, let's get on with it then." The judge adjusted himself in his seat and turned to Serena, "Go ahead, Ms. Thompson."

~*.*~

At 9 that night, the girls met up at Mina's apartment hoping that Lily would have shown up by the time they all got out of work. Each time they knocked on her door however, there was no answer. Lily still wasn't picking up her phone and the girl's were losing themselves in their worry.

Lita shook her head, "First thing tomorrow morning I am going to go down to the police station and demand that they listen. This just isn't like Lily!"

After deciding that they would meet up at Crown's at 9 in the morning, they left Mina's. As Mina was about to get ready for bed, a thought occurred to her and she ran down to the lobby. "SAMMY!

Sammy froze mid-step and turned his head towards her, "Mina? What's wrong?"

"Look, I'm really worried about Lily and we're afraid something has happened to her and I just want to make sure she's not bleeding to death on her living room floor, so I need her apartment key."

Sammy frowned, "Mina, I'm sorry… but I can't… You know that."

Mina stalked towards him, "Look, please. None of us have heard from her since Saturday and she wasn't in classes yesterday. I'm worried something's wrong."

Sammy's shoulders sank. That was definitely not like Lily. He looked around before walking behind the desk, "Okay, I'll get her key but I'm going up with you to unlock the door. If I get in trouble for this, I'm so blaming you."

"Fine, fine, let's go!" Mina huffed, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she impatiently waited for Sammy.

When they got up to Lily's apartment, Sammy unlocked the door and Mina rushed in. She looked in the living room quickly before making her way to the bedroom, "Lily?" When she got to the bedroom, she saw Luna curled up on the bed and a box sitting open in front of the bed.

Mina frowned as she kneeled in front of the box and pulled out a picture of Lily with a beautiful baby girl. Then she saw another picture with Lily holding an award for a Serena Thompson. When she saw the man standing next to Lily in the picture, a lump formed in Mina's throat.

She heard Sammy getting closer to the bedroom so she stuffed the picture in her pocket as she pushed herself to her feet. She intercepted him in the doorway and shook her head, "Lily isn't here."

"Okay, well, let's get out of here. I don't want to get in trouble."

Mina nodded, still a little shocked. After making sure that Luna was fine on food and water, they left the apartment. "Sammy, thank you… It's at least one less thing to worry about."

"If you guys are really that worried why don't you call the police?"

"We did and they laughed at us. But believe me, we're going to the police station tomorrow morning and we'll make them listen, whether they like it or not."

Sammy shivered at Mina's tone and was glad that he wasn't one of the officers that would encounter Mina or her friends the following morning.

Once Mina was back in her apartment, she sat down on the edge of her bed and pulled out the picture. After staring at it for a long time, she still couldn't understand why Lily would be holding an award for a Serena Thompson. More than that, however, Mina couldn't understand why her father was in this picture standing next to Lily.

~*.*~

When they all returned to the hotel, Michelle squeezed Serena's shoulder. "Serena, I'm really proud of you."

Serena didn't need to look into Michelle's eyes to recognize the sincerity of her words. Her lips twitched upward on one side, "Thanks…"

Michelle went to the far bed and pulled out two cases, one for a violin and one for a keyboard. "Look what I brought. To celebrate!"

Serena's smile faltered slightly. "Michelle, I'm sorry… Thank you for the gesture, I just… don't think I have it in my heart to play right now." She knew Michelle was just trying to make her feel better, and playing the piano usually did… it's just today had been exhausting on both her body and her soul.

Michelle nodded and set the cases down, "I understand."

Amara came over and put an arm around Michelle's waist. "We need to get some rest anyway, as we have a plan to catch first thing in the morning. We don't want her to miss another day of classes."

Serena dropped down onto her bed. "I could definitely put up an argument for missing one more day."

Tuesday morning, Amara dropped Serena off at her apartment. Finding nobody in the lobby, she quietly headed towards the stairs. When she got inside, she dropped her bag to the floor and smiled as Luna came running down the hallway. Serena scooped her up as she headed towards the couch and flipped her phone back on. When she saw how many missed calls and messages she had, she slapped a hand to her forehead.

She couldn't believe that she had listened to Amara about not leaving a note for Mina. The girls must have been so worried about her! She immediately sent a text message to all of them saying that she was back and exhausted, but that she would explain her absence to them at lunch. She received a couple messages back soon after but she was already falling fast asleep on the couch.

Two hours later, she found herself in the kitchen, yawning as she flipped the coffee pot on. She stood there breathing in the smell of coffee when there was suddenly a pounding on her door. Serena frowned and had barely opened the door before Mina flung herself at Serena, hugging her tightly, causing her to step back a few inches.

Mina pulled away and placed her hands firmly on Lily's shoulders. "WHERE have you been? You had us worried sick!"

Serena's face flushed as she looked into the eyes of her friend and saw the sincere concern in their blue depths. "Mina, I'm so sorry. I had some things I had to take care of and I should have told you guys, I know. I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry."

Mina narrowed her eyes for a moment and then hugged her again, more gently this time. "I'm just glad you're all right. We were so worried about you." Mina hesitated slightly, fighting over whether or not she should ask Lily about the picture. Finally, deciding against it, she smiled brightly. "Shall we celebrate your return by having a cup of coffee?"

Serena laughed as they made their way to the kitchen.

Amy and Raye were not happy with her when she met up with them in her classes, but once Serena had convinced them that she was genuinely sorry, they dropped it. When Lita joined them for lunch, she quickly hugged Serena and gave her the same speech that the others had given her before pulling out a fresh apple pie. "I started making it when I got your text message this morning."

Serena's mouth watered, "Oh, thank you Lita!"

Lita grinned, "I know it's your favorite."

Serena smiled at all of her friends as she blinked away tears. It was still hard to believe at how quickly the girls had managed their way into Serena's heart. "Guys, I really am sorry… and I know I still haven't told you where I was, but for now, I can't. Just know that if I ever have to go away like that again, I will not make the same mistake by not telling you. I didn't know how much you would worry…"

The girls smiled at her and Raye wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Lily, we understand that we all have secrets… but just know that we're all here for you. All of us." The other girls gathered around her as they nodded their agreement and Serena smiled. How could she have gotten so lucky to have friends like these?

The girls left unsaid that, although Lily smiled and carried on like nothing was wrong, one look into her baby-blue eyes told them differently. But it was obvious that whatever it was, she was not ready to talk about it.

"You'll be at Self-defense class tonight, right?"

Serena's heart felt heavier than her eyelids as she looked up at Lita. "Not tonight, I'm just so exhausted."

Before anything else could be said, Alan strode up and wrapped an arm tightly around Mina's waist. "Hey guys! Lily – I saw you in class, I'm glad you're all right. I was worried." He dipped down and placed a loving kiss on Mina's temple and an ecstatic grin slowly appeared on Mina's face.

Alan joined the other girls for lunch and although Alan seemed to obviously like Mina, Serena couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Despite the fact that something seemed off about Alan, he had seemed to like her and now suddenly he liked Mina. Despite her reservations about Alan, however, Serena was glad that Mina was so happy.

Serena couldn't help but wonder, however, what was up with Ann and Alan as she watched him settle in beside Mina. She assumed they had broken up, as every once and awhile she would see Ann in the distance, watching as Alan whispered something into Mina's ear to make her laugh.

After Mina dropped her off at her apartment, she made her way upstairs and collapsed on her bed. She was more exhausted than she realized, falling asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.

~*.*~

Lita walked into the room and made her way to the front of the class. "Hey, Darien."

Darien looked up and glanced around first before frowning, "Hey, Lita."

Lita grinned, "Looking for Lily?"

She could have sworn an embarrassed blush crept onto Darien's cheeks. "No, but that brings me to another question – where is she?"

Lita sighed, "At home. She's too tired to come tonight."

"Why is that?"

Lita shrugged, "She won't tell us the details but she had been gone since Saturday. She wasn't at home and her phone rolled over to voice mail each time we called. Then first thing this morning we get a text message saying she's back and she's exhausted."

Darien frowned, disappointed that he wouldn't see Lily tonight. "Where did she go?"

Lita shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know. All she told us was that she had something important to take care of and that she won't make us worry again."

Before they could talk about it anymore, a couple of students came up to him, drawing an abrupt halt to their conversation. However, during the entire class his thoughts remained on Lily. There was something going on with her and he was determined to find out what it was.

An hour after class ended, Darien headed back into the lobby of his apartment building. He walked to the elevator but stopped mid-stride when piano music, sad enough to make his heart heavy, drifted to his ears. He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat as he made his way down the hall towards the lounge.

When he rounded the corner, he saw Sammy sitting on the floor next to the door, tears streaming quietly down his face. When Sammy looked up and saw Darien he quickly got to his feet and brushed a hand across his cheeks to wipe away the tears. Darien held a finger to his lips to make sure that Sammy stayed quiet and walked passed him to peek into the door. There, sitting on the piano bench, was Lily.

He noticed the tears trailing down her cheeks as she played. After watching and listening for a few minutes, Darien couldn't stand the sight of her crying anymore and turned away, leaning his back on the other side of the door. The first time he met Lily, something stirred within him and each time he saw her after that, the feeling just grew stronger. Although he couldn't understand his feelings towards her, it was breaking his heart to see her like this.

He was thankful that Sammy left the hallway because Darien had to clench his jaw in his efforts to hold his own tears at bay. He didn't know if it was the song that was having this effect on him or if it was seeing Lily cry… or if it was a mixture of both. All he knew was that right then, his entire heart ached to comfort her.

His body stiffened when the music stopped and he heard her soft cries. If he went in there right now, he knew she would just turn him away. He sighed quietly and started to walk back down the hallway but his hand caught hold of the door frame and stopped him. He gripped it tightly as he looked back over his shoulder at Lily. Taking a deep breath, he turned back around and slowly made his way towards her.

"Lily?"

Serena's head snapped up and she wiped her cheeks quickly before looking at him. "Darien? What are you doing here?"

"I was just heading back from class and I heard someone playing the piano…" He left it unsaid that he had been standing there for a few minutes and had heard her crying as well - Although one look at her face and it wasn't much of a secret. He sat down on the bench next to her. "Are you okay?"

Serena nodded and faced the piano again, letting her fingers gently stroke the keys. "I just had a tough weekend, that's all. Other than that though, I'm fine."

Darien didn't believe a word of it. But as much as he wanted to know, he was raised to respect a person's right to keep their own secrets, even if the pain from those secrets destroyed them. "I know something's wrong, but I'm not going to force you to tell me anything that you don't want to." He waited a moment, hoping that she would say something. Despite the fact that he was the last person she would open up to, he couldn't help but feel hopeful. When he got no response from her, he sighed and changed the subject. "Who taught you how to play the piano?"

"My mother." Serena's eyes went wide a little. "I mean, my adopted mother." She stood, not wanting to give him the chance to ask anymore questions. She wasn't in the mood to try and conceal her true identity. "Anyway, I'm tired. Night, Darien."

Before he knew what he was doing, he reached out and gently caught her wrist. He heard her gasp and saw her look down at his hand. He loosened his grip and let it slide down, taking her petite hand into his own, ignoring the nervous fluttering in his stomach. He let his thumb drag across her impossibly smooth skin and finally looked up into her eyes. "Lily, I just want you to know that if you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask."

The intense look in his dark blue eyes made her breath quicken and her knees to go weak. She felt the tiniest tug on her hand and took a step closer to him. Her gaze left his eyes to search the rest of his face before finally resting on his lips.

Serena slowly leaned down until their faces were inches apart. She could feel his warm breath against her lips. She glanced once more to his eyes as he brought his face closer to hers. Before their lips met, however, Darien's elbow tapped the keys and reason flooded back into Serena's head. Her eyes snapped open and air filled her lungs as she pulled back a few inches. She smiled softly at him and leaned down again, brushing a soft kiss against his cheek. She lingered for a moment before she pulled away and started out of the room. She turned back with one hand on the door frame. "Darien… thank you."

Darien only had time to nod before she disappeared.

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_If you enjoyed this chapter or the story so far (if this is your first time reading through it),  
**PLEASE review.** _

_Reviews make me happy :D  
_


	13. A Surprising Discovery

_Guys, I can't apologize enough for how long it has taken me to write this. __I'm taking 19 hours this semester and between unforeseen family complications and_

_being sick for a month, I haven't had a lot of free time. But this is Spring Break week s__o I fully plan on getting as much as humanly possible typed up before I get busy again._

_Thank you all that sent me messages asking me to update, I'm sorry I didn't respond to them but I did read them and they were much appreciated __ Hopefully you'll be happy with this update!_

_As always, thank you to **AngelONigh**t for being an awesome Beta _

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**Chapter 13 - A Surprising Discovery**

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The next morning was a long one for Serena. After waking up a little after midnight from a bad dream regarding her testimony against Frank, she seemed to be in a complete haze. She hugged her pillow as she stared out the window, idly watching the rain stream down, letting her worries extend into reality. Trapped inside her own foggy world, she barely noticed when her alarm went off at 7. For a moment, it sounded as if it was a distant car alarm. She sighed as she got up to turn it off, stretched and made her way to the kitchen. Luna trailed behind her, eager for her breakfast while Serena made coffee.

When Mina arrived at the door a moment later, she sighed. She could tell by the distant look in Lily's eyes that it wasn't the time to talk about the picture she had found in Lily's room. Mina was getting frustrated. She desperately wanted to know why Lily was in a picture with the man she knew to be her father and why Lily was holding an award for a Serena Thompson. She had so many questions and it just never seemed like the right time to get answers.

"Lily, is everything okay?"

Serena stared at her coffee cup for a moment before lifting her head and looking at Mina, "I'm sorry, what?"

Mina sighed. "I just asked if everything was okay. You're pretty quiet this morning."

"Oh! Yeah, no, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind is all." She glanced towards her balcony and watched the rain come down. "It's raining pretty hard, huh?"

"Yeah… I'll have to change the outfit I planned to wear today. It was really cute, too!"

Serena smiled slightly at Mina's bright personality and then proceeded to stare out the window again as she sipped her coffee. She didn't even notice when Mina left the apartment to start getting ready for the day. She headed back to her room, took a shower and got dressed in some jean capris, pink tank top and a light rain coat. After slipping on some flip flops, she opened the door to find Mina preparing to knock. They laughed for a moment before Serena waved goodbye to Luna and they headed down the stairs to the lobby and off to campus.

In her first class, Amy had quite a difficult time keeping Lily focused. Every time she looked over, it seemed the Lily was staring off into space and not listening to the professor. After nudging her, Lily would stay attentive for about a minute before she would start zoning out again. Mina had a similar problem in their second class, except Mina wasn't able to prevent Lily from getting into trouble when the professor caught her not paying attention.

At lunch, when Serena had gone to the restroom, the girls all talked about her lack of interest in anything.

"I asked her this morning what was going on and she said that she just had a lot of stuff on her mind before she changed the subject."

Lita sighed, "Maybe I should fix her some more apple pie?"

Raye smirked, "Well, the way to Lily's heart seems to be her stomach, that's for sure."

"Not this past week, she's barely eaten anything!"

All the girls sighed at Amy's observation. It was true, their normally food-happy friend had shown very little interest in it recently. All conversation had to cease as they saw Lily heading back towards the group, but they were all extremely worried about her and knew they had to come up with some kind of plan to get her to talk about whatever was going on.

At dance that day, Serena tried to sit out and was frustrated when Mina wouldn't let her just watch. Alan danced with her a couple times and no matter how much he tried, she just wouldn't start up a conversation with him. Her mind was obviously not on the dancing and even though Alan tried to surprise her with a few complicated moves, she followed effortlessly and still stared off over his right shoulder.

After classes, the girls rendezvoused at Crown's to get a quick bite to eat before Mina and Molly had to head to work. Andrew noticed them immediately and made his way over to the counter, smiling.

"Hey, ladies! How are we doing today?"

"Oh, pretty good." Mina glanced hesitantly at Lily who simply smiled blankly back at her.

Andrew frowned at Lily and sent a questioning glance towards the other two. Mina simply sighed and shrugged her shoulders before Andrew nodded sadly. He had seen Lily depressed lately but he didn't know exactly how bad it had gotten. "You guys want the regular?"

"Yes, please!" Mina absent-mindedly licked her lips and headed to a booth with the other two following. Andrew delivered their orders, sighing when Lily's eyes didn't light up at the sight of food, before quickly going to help another group sitting at a nearby booth. Mina and Molly quickly dug into their meals but stopped when they looked over at Lily who was simply stirring her straw around in her water and staring at her sandwich. They glanced at each other and Molly was about to ask what was wrong when Lily sat up-straight.

"Hey, I'm actually going to call it a day. I know it's early, but I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'll see you both tomorrow though, okay?" She didn't give them the opportunity to respond as she got up from the table and headed towards the door. But, of course, she couldn't escape that easily. She walked straight into someone coming in. (Guess who!)

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She looked up into deep blue eyes and felt her heart quiver pleasantly. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she remembered the previous evening.

Darien smiled at her but his smiled faltered as he looked into her suddenly distant eyes. "Hey… Is everything okay?"

Serena smiled as widely as she could. "Yes, of course… I'm just going home for the night."

Darien glanced outside. While the sun wasn't out due to the rain clouds, it was still very much daytime. He looked back at her quizzically. "Calling it quits this early?"

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling well. But I'll see you tomorrow!" She ducked around him and out the door.

Darien turned around to watch her leave and was quickly joined by Andrew. "What's up with her?"

Darien sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I have absolutely no idea…"

~*.*~

Serena sighed as she walked into the lobby. She was sure that her friends were worried about her. She knew that she had been a complete downer lately and wished so much that she could share her fears and history with her friends, but she couldn't. She couldn't tell anybody. The only people she could talk to are Amara and Michelle and while she loved them deeply, as they were like family, it would be nice to talk to someone that was separated from the situation.

"Oh, Ms. Avery! Wait up a moment, please!"

Serena frowned and turned around and headed towards the desk where Ken had called from. "Hey, Ken. What's going on?"

"I know you haven't checked your mail yet… mostly because you haven't had any…" he let that comment sit in the air for a moment, as he found it strangely odd, "but you got in a rather large envelope this morning that I thought you'd like to know about."

Serena frowned, but reached for it when Ken handed it to her, wondering who could be sending her things to this address. "Thanks…" Her eyebrows rose quickly when she saw who it was from. "Thanks, Ken! I appreciate it!" She turned and walked away quickly towards the elevator, not wanting to wait until she got to her apartment to read it. When she got to the elevator she ripped open the envelope and took out the papers inside. Paper-clipped to the front was a note.

"_I thought you would want to see this as soon as it was released. I wasn't able to call or visit, as I'm dealing with another case, but I knew this would ease your mind. Know we both love you. We'll see you soon! - Amara and Michelle"_

The elevator dinged and she stepped off to head to her apartment as she tore off the note and unfolded the newspaper article underneath. She opened her apartment, shut the door and quickly made it to her couch before she started reading. In it, it stated how Frank Marshall, a well-known employee of Chase Diamond, had been convicted of manslaughter in the second degree and multiple felony charges, as well as possible murders of police officers in the Washington area which were still being investigated.

Serena's heart felt like it stopped beating when she read the sentence that said Chase Diamond was being investigated for having been possibly involved, and in some cases for having ordered, Frank Marshall to become involved in the majority of the felonies and murders he was convicted of.

She sighed heavily and dropped the article onto her lap. All of the fears and worries she had built up, especially within the past week, seemed to come suddenly to the surface. Luna quickly came and jumped onto her chest, trying to ease her sorrow with purrs. Although it was still far from over, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders knowing that she could at least do this much for her daughter.

Picking up Luna and the article, she made her way to the bedroom and knelt next to the bed, pulling out the box underneath. She sighed as she opened it, looking at all the pictures and mementos from her past. She took a deep breath and set the article down on top of the other items in the box. There was still much more to do but she felt like she could finally put a lot of it behind her. The article said that Chase was finally being investigated, as Frank was one of his higher-end 'employees'. Hopefully, soon, it would all be over. The only unfortunate thing was, for it to all be over, she would need to come face-to-face with Chase one more time; whether she would have the courage to do that, only time would tell.

~*.*~

The next morning when Mina came over for coffee, she saw a completely different Lily. For the past week, Lily's smile hadn't been reflected in her eyes. Now, however, when Lily smiled it was like the world around her lit up too. When she asked what caused the change, all Lily said was that she got some great news last night. Mina sighed in frustration. It would have been the perfect opportunity to talk with her about the picture she had found in Lily's room, but Mina just simply wasn't prepared. Now that she felt Lily was okay to talk to, she didn't even know what to say.

"Mina, is everything okay?"

Mina's head snapped up and she nodded quickly. "Yep! I'm just gonna take my coffee and go get ready!" She held up her coffee cup, smiled and proceeded to sulk out of the room.

Serena frowned but shook her head and started to get ready herself. She met up with Mina an hour later and they headed down the stairs and into the lobby. Hearing the elevator ding as they passed it, they casually glanced over to see Darien stepping off of it.

"Good morning, ladies."

Mina noted that, although Darien's comment was meant for both of them, his eyes never left Lily's. She smiled slightly and nudged Lily's side to snap her out of her trance. "Good morning, Darien!"

Serena's cheeks flushed as she smiled at Darien. "Yes, hello!"

Darien raised his eyebrows as he saw the difference in Lily's demeanor. "I hope everything is going well…"

Serena caught onto Darien's prodding comment and nodded slightly. "Yes, everything is much better, thank you." It touched her to think that he cared that much.

Darien smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I've got to run to a meeting though. Have a good day!"

Serena and Mina turned as he walked passed them and out the door. Soon after, they continued towards Mina's car.

"You know, I think Darien likes you."

Serena blushed, "What are you talking about? He's just worried about me, that's all."

"Uh huh, I'd say he's a little more than worried."

~*.*~

The girls noticed the difference in Lily as well, as it was extremely hard to miss, but none of them wanted to ask her about it because they were worried they might do something to cause her to revert back to being upset and withdrawn. For as long as it would last, they would welcome the change. They never wanted Lily to be upset like that again and made a private pact to do whatever they could to prevent it from happening.

Serena knew that her friends were worried about her and she hated not being able to confide in her friends, knowing that they were frustrated at being left in the dark about what has been going on. She knew that she could trust them and that they would love her despite her past, but she had promised Amara and Michelle that she wouldn't. After the rest of the girls left to go to their last classes, Serena started to wander to the library in hopes of running into Darien. Ever since Mina's comment this morning, she couldn't help but wonder if Darien really liked her. He did seem to stare a lot. He also offered her extra self-defense classes, but that was just because he was worried about her. Right?

And then there was Tuesday night. Serena's heart started fluttering at the thought of it. Darien had almost kissed her. But it was just situational. He felt sorry for her. He couldn't have feelings for her like that… and even if he did, she was in no position to date anyone. It wouldn't be fair to the person to lie to them about her past and leave them in the dark about the rest of it. Besides, who could really love her like that? What does she have to offer to anybody?

Serena was so lost in thought that she didn't have time to duck behind a tree before Alan spotted her.

"Hey, Lily!"

Serena froze, hoping that if she concentrated hard enough she would turn invisible. It became clear to her, however, that she was unsuccessful when Alan stopped right in front of her. She sighed, "Hi, Alan." She backed up a foot when he stepped too close for her comfort.

"Are you going to the dance tomorrow?"

Serena backed up another step, "Yes, of course. Don't you know that it's Mina's birthday tomorrow, too?"

Alan shrugged. "I thought I heard something about that, but I wasn't really paying attention."

Serena was about to scold him about paying attention to important dates in his girlfriend's life when she was saved by Darien.

"Hey, Lily. Is everything okay?"

Serena felt her heart flutter. "Darien! Yes, I was just saying goodbye to Alan."

"Oh, well if that's the case, would you like to walk with me a bit?"

Serena smiled. She couldn't help it, especially when he was nearby. "Yes, I would love that." She shuffled forward to stand next to Darien and they started walking away from a speechless Alan. She usually hated being so rude to people, but she just couldn't find it in herself to tolerate Alan more than she had to. There was just something about him that got on her nerves.

Serena leaned towards Darien, "Thank you for that."

"Anytime! I have a weakness for damsels in distress."

Serena's knees weakened when he sent her a half-smile and a wink. She regained her composure, however, and responded indignantly to his comment. "I was not in distress! I could have handled it perfectly on my own, thank you very much!"

Darien chuckled. "Sure, sure."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Actually, Darien… I did want to talk to you. Does the offer still stand for you to give me extra self-defense lessons? I mean, I understand if you don't want to. You probably have a lot of better things to-"

Darien stopped walking and faced her abruptly. "Of course it still stands! I would love very much to give you extra lessons!"

Serena smiled, "Are you free Saturday night? I mean, if you have plans I'm free Sunday, too."

Darien grinned, "How about both?"

"Really, you'd do that for me?"

"Of course!"

"Darien, thank you... It really means a lot to me." Serena smiled brightly up at him before she remembered the party. "Oh, by the way we're planning a surprise party for Mina at Crowns before tomorrow nights dance… I'm sure she'd love for you to be there…"

"Well, actually I've been asked to attend the dance as a chaperone so I had to clear the entire evening. I would love to be there as well, I actually think I saw something the other day that would be perfect for Mina!"

"Oh, I'm so glad! I mean… I'm sure Mina will be thrilled that you'll be able to make, that's all. It's at Crowns at 7… I'll see you there, then?"

Darien nodded. "Most definitely."

Serena awkwardly waved goodbye and turned to walk away, barely missing a tree. She sighed and chose to ignore the laughter behind her.

~*.*~

After classes, they went by to see Raye perform and then Molly took Mina to a movie while the other girls went shopping for her birthday. It took them two hours in the mall, but they came out ready for the party tomorrow and thrilled with their presents. When Serena was walking back into the lobby with her bags she passed Sammy at the front desk and sighed, remembering the request Sammy had made of her.

Although playing the piano brought back memories for her they were good memories. Serena smiled and returned Sammy's wave as she walked towards the staircase. She would play the piano for him this weekend. It was good to remind them both how powerful the love of a mother was.

Serena wasn't home long before Mina knocked on her door. "Hey, Mina! How was the movie?"

"Oh, it was great! I love romantic comedies! Especially ones with dancing in it!"

Serena laughed as Mina did a little spin in her living room. "Would you like something to drink?" Anticipating Mina's response, she headed towards the kitchen.

Mina followed her but stopped as she pulled something out of her purse. "Actually, Lily… I wanted to talk to you about something."

The seriousness of Mina's voice made her turn immediately. "Mina, what's wrong?"

"Oh! Well, it's nothing really… I mean, I didn't mean to be nosy, I really didn't. I was just worried about you and I don't want to ask you anything you don't want to answer, but-"

"Mina, calm down! You can ask me anything. Come on, let's sit down." Serena guided her to the living room and sat her down on the couch. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

Mina hesitantly looked at the object in her hand and slowly gave it to her best friend.

Serena looked down at the picture Mina handed her and felt her heart lurch into her throat. It was a picture of her holding an award for a dance competition standing next to her father. Her eyes filled with tears as she spoke softly. "Mina, where did you get this?"

Mina was starting to tear up as well. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snoop. I was just so worried about you – we all were…"

Serena was preparing to explain why she was holding an award for a 'Serena Thompson' or why, when she told Mina she had no pictures, she actually has an entire boxful of them underneath her bed. But she wasn't prepared for what Mina said next.

"…and I asked Sammy to let me in incase you were hurt and needing help and I just saw all those pictures on your floor and again, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snoop… but Lily… I need to know. Please, I need to know…" Mina hesitated a moment before taking a deep breath. "I don't know who Serena Thompson is, or why she looks so much like you… but I do know this man." Mina reached forward and pointed at the man in the picture before she reached inside of her purse. She pulled out a very old and folded photo before handing it to Lily. "This man is my father."

Serena's words choked in her throat as she compared the two photos. "Your… father?"

Mina nodded and sighed. "I've never actually met him, but my mum gave me this picture when I was little. They were dance partners for years and this was taken at one of their competitions. I don't even think he knows that I exist… My mum told me that he had a life here in America and it was best for everyone that he didn't know."

Serena was speechless as she stared at Mina. If Mina's story was true, it would mean that Serena's father cheated when he was in England. However, she did know that her parents had a huge fight before they found out they were going to be parents. It was a joke that Serena had been the glue that kept them together and made them try to work everything out. Of course, once they got passed their differences, they grew closer and their relationship turned out to be stronger in the end. What if the reason for the argument was because of his affair in England? What if one of the agreements that her parents made was that he was to never go back? Serena knew her father very well. If he had even thought for a second he might have another child, he never would have just ignored them.

Mina grew impatient for a response. "Lily?"

Serena snapped her attention back to the moment. If Mina's mother was correct, that this man was indeed her father, that would mean that she was Serena's half-sister. That would mean that she still has one true family-member left. The thought alone was enough to cause multiple tears to slip down Serena's cheeks and her heart to lodge in her throat. When she already thought of Mina as a sister, could it be possible that she actually was?

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_Please Review!  
I know it takes an extra moment, but I'd really like to know what you think!_

_ I'm going to be updating my other stories as well, but my main focus will stay on this one until it's finished. I hope you liked this chapter and that it was worth the wait! I have a move and 2 tests next week so it will be 3 weeks before I can get the next chapter up, but I promise a LOT is going to happen next chapter! And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. So hopefully that will give you something to look forward to!_


	14. One Step at a Time

_Once again, I want to thank all of you that have sent me messages and reviewed.  
__I apologize for not having updated before now!  
Rest assured that I do have good reasons and know that,  
no matter how long it takes me, I will finish this story! =)_

_I hope you all deem this chapter worth the wait!_

_Please let me know what you think!_

_Again, thank you to my awesome beta: __**AngelONight**_

_Please, please, please __**Review**__. _

_Why? Because it makes me feel good about myself :D_

_

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**Chapter 14 - One Step at a Time**

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"_When she already thought of Mina as a sister, could it be possible that she actually was?"_

Serena sat there staring blankly ahead of her. All she could think was that this had to be a joke. Someone up there was laughing at her. After everything she'd been through, after everywhere she'd been, only to wind up here living 4 apartments away from a half-sister she never knew about. It had been a running joke between the two of them that they looked like sisters, but that's all it had been. A joke… a joke that would explain everything.

The events flowed so smoothly for all of this to be true and the evidence had been staring Serena in the face since the first time she had met Mina on the stairwell, but it just wasn't possible. She couldn't have a sister. For so long she had resigned herself to the fact that she had no one left. It was a joke; this had to be a joke.

Somewhere deep down, however, she knew it was true; it had to be true. She had a sister. What was she going to tell Mina? Amara and Michelle had made it very clear to her that if she told anyone, or if anyone was to find out, that she would be forced to move again. But there was no way that they could have anticipated something like this. Mina wouldn't tell anyone, it would be their secret. Amara and Michelle would understand. They had to. But what if they didn't?

Mina sat there quietly watching the various emotions pass across Lily's face and her eyes fill with tears. After a few minutes, she cleared her throat to break the agonizing silence. "Lily?"

Serena started at the sudden intrusion and blinked, a tear slipping down her cheek. She looked at Mina and took a deep breath. She knew exactly what she had to do… The question was would she have to pay for it later? "Mina… This man in the picture… He's my father."

Mina's brows furrowed. "But you said tha-"

"That my father died when I was young, I know. Mina… It's a long story, and I-" Serena was cut off mid-sentence as a wave of emotions suddenly hit her. She brought her hand up to her trembling lips as her tears started to flow freely.

Mina wasn't entirely sure where Lily was going with this, but she put a reassuring hand on her arm. "Whatever is going on, you can tell me. No matter what it is and no matter how long it takes you to tell me, I'm not going anywhere."

Serena nodded and placed her hand over Mina's. After taking a settling breath, she sighed. "First of all, my name… it isn't Liliana Avery."

It was difficult to tell Mina everything, but as she talked about what had happened it felt like, for the first time, she was finally coming to terms with it all. For years she had to lock all of it away, never thinking she was strong enough to confront her past. But the possibility that she wasn't alone anymore gave her strength that she hadn't thought she would ever feel again.

When Serena told her about the recent trip to Washington, Mina nodded with understanding. "I'm so glad they caught the guy! I can only imagine how much of a relief that was for you. I just wish we knew what was going on… Lily… I mean, Serena… We were so worried about you."

"With good reason… I was worried about myself. All I wanted out of life was to have justice for my daughter and when the time finally came, I was worried it wouldn't be enough." Serena sighed and her shoulders sagged. "But Chase is still out there. The real person behind me losing Alyson and it feels like I can't do anything about it."

"I know, but after convicting one of his own men, I'm sure they can't be too far away from pinning that… bastard." Mina couldn't restrain her venomous tone. "Serena, they'll get him. His ass will be nailed to the floor even if I have to do it myself. Besides, I'm sure Lita could kick his ass."

At that, Serena couldn't help but release all the tension in her body and laugh. "I'm sure she could… but Mina, the other girls can't know about any of this. I shouldn't even have told you. You don't want to know the lecture I'm going to get from Amara or Michelle about this. I just couldn't keep lying to you. I'm terrified they'll make me move again."

Mina suddenly sat up straight. "They can't do that! I won't let them! I won't tell anybody, I promise! It doesn't make sense that any of this could be real… us being sisters. I can't explain it, but it just feels right."

Serena leaned forward and hugged Mina as she nodded. "I know. I won't let them take me away from you." Tears made their way down her cheeks. "You're all I have left."

After another tearful moment, they pulled away from the embrace and Serena wiped her cheeks. "Although I think it's probably best that you don't get out of the habit of calling me Lily."

Mina smiled as she wiped away her own tears. "I know, I just want one night where we're not pretending. I can only imagine that you could probably use it."

Serena laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Actually…I'll be right back, I'd like to show you something." She saw Mina look confused as she got up from the couch and headed to the bedroom. Kneeling to the floor, she retrieved the box that had been hidden under her bed and carried it out into the living room. "Now, I know you've seen some of these before… but now that you know everything, I'd like to share with you the stories that go behind them."

Mina looked excited. "I would love to know more about your life! Especially your father…"

Serena grinned. "Our father."

~*.*~

A few hours later, they were still looking through the pictures. "He sounded like such a wonderful man…"

Serena nodded. "Yes, he was… He would have loved you."

"Serena… Are you sure? That he didn't know about me, I mean. I just don't understand how he could have such a relationship with my mum and then never call."

"Mina, I can tell you with 100% certainty that he had no idea you existed. Trust me, if he had known about you, he would have been visiting so much you would have gotten sick of him."

Mina smiled and felt much better. She was sad to learn that he had died, but was relieved to hear what a wonderful man he was and couldn't wait to hear more. She sighed as she scanned through some more pictures. She held one up and shook her head slightly. "Serena, you really had one beautiful child."

Serena leaned forward to see which picture Mina was looking at and smiled. "That's the first time I brought her to the park. I had to slide down that slide with her before she would do it by herself. Once she realized how much fun it was, the only way I could get her to stop was by promising we would come back the next day." She sighed, "I miss her so much."

Mina set down the picture and looked at Serena seriously. "I don't know how you do it. After everything you've been through, how do you stand to get out of bed everyday?"

Looking at the ground for a moment, Serena sighed. "Some days are harder than others. Sometimes putting up a façade that everything is okay is the only way I'm able to get through the day and at other times… the idea of smiling just hurts. I honestly don't know how I do it, but what I do know is that my parents and my daughter would want me to do what I can to move on. It just seems that every time I start to get my life under control again, Chase appears and pulls the rug right out from underneath my feet, forcing me to start all over again."

Mina squeezed one of Serena's hands. "We have each other now. I'm not going anywhere and I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Serena smiled and squeezed her hand back as she glanced over at the clock. "Ugh, 3:12. We have to get up in 4 hours. Oh! It's after midnight… Happy Birthday, Mina!"

Mina blinked a few times before grinning. "With everything that transpired I had completely forgotten… I got a sister for my birthday. The day just started and I already don't know how it can get any better!"

~*.*~

After only getting a couple hours of sleep, it was difficult for the girls to make it through their classes the next day. They got in trouble with Mr. Logan for falling asleep during his fascinating lecture regarding the social networking of honey bees. After eating the delicious lunch Lita had prepared for all the girls in celebration of Mina's birthday, they had some of their energy back but by the end of their third class they were once again barely able to keep their eyes open. The only thing that kept them going was the knowledge that they had 4 hours to sleep once they got home before they had to start getting ready for the party. Mina, of course, still thought they were just meeting the other girls at Crown's before heading to the dance like they usually did and it was Serena's job to keep her occupied beforehand and to get her there on time. Serena knew she would have no problem finding something for them to do, the 'getting Mina there on time' part she wasn't so sure about.

To make things easier for when it was time to get ready, Mina brought everything she would need for that evening over to Serena's, Artemis trailing behind her. After putting everything away where the cats couldn't get to it, they both collapsed on Serena's bed and were asleep before their heads hit the pillows.

When Serena's alarm went off at 4 o'clock, she didn't bother trying to wake Mina up just yet. It was a useless venture unless Mina knew she would get coffee out of it. So after making two cups of coffee she dragged herself back to the bedroom and sat on the bed next to Mina's feet and nudged her with an elbow. "Mina, wake up."

"But the pizza isn't in the oven yet."

Serena rolled her eyes at Mina's sleepy mumbling. "Yes, it is – I made sure to do that before I woke up. Here, drink some coffee."

~*.*~

An hour and a half later, they were wide awake and excited about the evening ahead of them. Serena had made a promise that Mina could dress her for the dance tonight and had been happily surprised by Mina's selection: A deep pink off-the-shoulder lace top that fell freely around her mid-section, hugging her hips, and a simple short flowing black skirt. She smiled as Mina came up behind her putting an earring in.

"Serena, 'hot' wouldn't even be close to describing you. The dark pink eye shadow makes your eyes look painfully blue." She gave her another quick once-over. "Yep, I'm awesome. Here, you don't need a necklace but these silver dangle chain earrings will finish the look!"

Serena accepted the earrings and proceeded to put them in as she looked at Mina. "And look at you… Mina, you're stunning!" Mina grinned at herself in the mirror and dragged her hands over her low-cut navy dress that hung just above her knees. "Well, what do you think? Are we ready?"

Mina nodded and they headed over to Crown's. Serena sent a text to the girls saying they were on their way so that they would be sure to have everything ready when they walked in the door and dropped her phone back into her purse. Serena did her best to keep Mina engrossed in a conversation, because it was quite obvious that Crown's was packed with a few more people than usual at this hour and she didn't want her to notice.

"Anyway, Lily, as I have said before you would make an excellent –"

"SURPRISE!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Mina's eyes filled up with tears as she was bombarded with birthday hugs from all her friends. As they escorted Mina to the middle table, Serena locked eyes with Darien and felt her heart beat faster. The lop-sided smile he greeted her with only made matters worse.

Darien hadn't thought it was possible for someone like Lily to look more attractive than she had the day before. It wasn't only her outward appearance that caught Darien's eye this evening, however. There was something different about her, a certain inner glow he could see in her eyes that drew his attention. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath as he followed the girls to the table.

The middle table had been reserved for the closest friends, Amy, Raye, Lita, Molly, Serena, Mina and a couple people from Mina's work. A seat had also been reserved for Alan, who was nowhere to be seen. Over the course of the evening, Serena noticed Mina glancing around every once-and-awhile, presumably looking for Alan. "Mina, I'm sure he has a good reason for not being here." She doubted the truth of that, but for right now Mina didn't need the truth.

After everyone ate and Mina opened her presents, most of the guests had to leave to go home. Everyone else stayed to help Andrew clean up the mess from the party and Serena helped Mina collect all the gifts she had received. "Do you want me to take these back to the apartment for you?"

"Aw, thanks, Lily! I'd appreciate that. There are a few people I'd still like to talk to before they leave." She watched as Serena picked up the heavy basket of gifts and made her way out of the restaurant. When she was certain Serena wouldn't notice, she hustled over to Darien who had been pulled into the task of moving the tables back into their proper places. Mina cleared her throat and nudged Darien in the arm.

"Hey, hope you had a great birthday!"

Mina grinned. "Oh, I had a wonderful birthday, thank you! I know you must be tired, helping Andrew move the tables and everything, but I think Lily might need some help carrying the gifts back to the apartment. Would you mind?"

Darien's eyes flicked up to the petite goddess struggling with the exterior door of the restaurant and quickly glanced back at Andrew. "You only have a couple tables left, do you think you can take it from here?"

Andrew rolled his eyes, "Go, go. I'll be fine." He sighed as he watched his friend almost skip out to go to Lily's rescue. Leaning over the counter he poked Mina gently. "You're evil, you know that, right?"

Mina smiled as she looked back at him. "I have no idea _what_ you're talking about."

~*.*~

Serena almost stumbled a bit as the weight of the door was taken off of her shoulder. She glanced behind her to see Darien reaching over her head to hold it for her. "Thanks!"

Darien nodded as he followed her out. "Here, let me get that for you." He didn't wait for her response before he lifted the basket out of her arms.

"Oh, thanks but- Okay, sure. Thanks." Serena smiled over at him and flexed her aching fingers. "I'm just taking these back to the apartment before we have to go to the dance."

"That's what I figured, but I saw how you were struggling with the door at the restaurant and then I thought about how many doors you'd have to get through between here and there and I just _knew_ you needed my help."

Serena rolled her eyes at the sarcastic tone of his voice as they made their way across the street and into the apartment building. "Thanks for being there tonight. I know it was last-minute, but Mina will get a lot of use out of that gift card."

"I'm glad you think she'll like it."

The silence in the elevator ride was almost unbearable. Serena and Darien both had so much to say but, at the risk of sounding like an idiot, neither spoke. When Serena let him into her apartment, he was greeted by two kittens. He placed the basket of gifts onto the floor by the couch and kneeled down to pet them. "Aw, they're adorable. What are their names?"

"The black one is Luna, she's mine, and the white one is Artemis, he's Mina's. They were surprisingly quick friends and are almost as inseparable as me and Mina."

Darien stood up and looked around the dark apartment. "So this is your place?"

Serena nodded, "Yeah… I haven't really had a lot of time to decorate yet."

Darien shrugged, "You should see my place." Seeing Lily's reaction he realized how his particular choice of phrasing sounded. "I mean, I don't have a lot of decorations out either." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It was so difficult to think coherently when he was alone in a room with her. "We should probably head back. I need to get to the dance so that I can chaperone all you crazy kids and make sure you don't burn down the building."

Serena laughed and shoved him jokingly out of her apartment. Stepping onto the elevator, Darien broke the silence.

"So, are we still on for the self-defense lessons this weekend?"

"Yeah, of course! What time were you thinking about?"

"Well, we could probably just use the conference rooms down here in the lobby if it would be all right with Ken. So, how does 10 sound?"

"Sounds fine for now… whether it still sounds fine in the morning is going to be the question."

Darien grinned over at her but their conversation was halted when they got closer to Crown's. Nobody was inside the restaurant. Of course, there was Andrew and the rest of the staff, but the girls were all gone. They walked into Crown's and headed straight towards Andrew.

"Where is everybody?"

Andrew sighed and tried to restrain the smile that was trying to make its way onto his face. "Mina said that they didn't want to be late for the dance but knew that Darien had to be there anyway and figured he would be able to drive you."

All Serena could do was shake her head. Mina was going to be the end of her.

~*.*~

"Lily! There you are!" Mina greeted her sister with a brilliant smile while the other girls started giggling. "We were wondering when you'd show up."

"Mina, you are in sooo much trouble." Serena tried to act upset, she really did.

Lita smirked, "You know, those words don't exactly sound so threatening when they're coming from a women with a huge grin on her face."

The others laughed when Serena blushed. "Did I tell you guys he offered to give me extra self-defense lessons?"

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" Raye grinned when she saw Lily's eyes go wide. "Oh come on, Lily. Anyone with half-a-mind could see that you two like each other. Sneaking peaks when you think the other isn't looking… it's so obvious."

If possible, Serena's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. "Well, regardless, he actually is just giving me extra self-defense lessons." _I hope…_ Changing the subject, Serena glanced around. "Where's Molly?"

Amy motioned out onto the dance floor and Serena saw that Molly was dancing with a boy named Melvin, someone that had offered to help Serena when she first arrived on campus.

"They're so cute together!"

Amy was about to say something when Alan poked his head through the group. "Well, hey Lily. You finally showed up, I see."

Serena glared at him. "I could say the same thing about you."

Mina waved her hand to dismiss Serena's attitude as she swallowed a sip of soda. "No, It's okay. Alan's car broke down which is why he couldn't make it to the party."

Lita crossed her arms while everyone else clenched their jaws and glared. It was quite obvious that nobody believed, or liked, Alan. Serena watched as he pulled Mina onto the dance floor.

Amy shook her head, "We have to do something."

Raye nodded in agreement. "She deserves so much better than that creep!"

Lita clenched her fists, "I just want to punch that smirk off of his face!"

Serena sighed as she watched her sister. Mina reminded her so much of the girl she was before she met Chase. A girl who thought she could trust everybody. She wouldn't let the same thing happen to Mina. She looked up as Darien made his way over to them.

"Hey, ladies. How is everything going?"

"Darien, you're in the FBI… Do you know anybody we can hire to make a murder look like an accident?"

Darien blinked at Raye and followed their glares to see Alan dancing with Mina and understood what Raye was talking about. "Oh, how I wish it were that easy, trust me." He looked down at Lily, "Would you like to dance?"

Serena looked up at him with fake surprise. "I thought you were here to prevent us crazy kids from catching the building on fire."

Darien laughed as he took her hand, barely giving time for Lily to hand her purse to Raye, and lead her out onto the dance floor. But of course, as clichéd moments would have it, the loud music suddenly turned into a slow dance. Swallowing once again passed the lump that was forming in his throat, he gently put his hand around Lily's waist and moved closer to her. "Sorry, I'm not much of a dancer."

Serena smiled. Typically the idea of shifting her weight back and forth would drive her insane, but for some reason it didn't matter what she was doing so long as Darien's arms were around her. "You know, to pay you back for the extra self-defense lessons, I would be happy to teach you how to dance."

"I think I could take you up on that, but I have to warn you… I have two left feet when it comes to dancing. My mom tried to make me learn when I was younger, but of course, my teacher wasn't half as attractive as you are… so I might actually pay attention this time."

Serena felt her face flush as she giggled nervously. "Well, that's settled then." She sighed and rested her head against his chest and breathed in his intoxicating cologne. She felt so safe and protected in his arms as they swayed back and forth off-beat to the music.

~*.*~

"Amara, are you sure this isn't too last-minute? Serena has quite a few friends now, she may have plans that a visit from us would be interrupting."

The tall woman grinned. "Do you really want to tell her this news over the phone?"

Michelle smiled, "Of course not and it would be better for her to hear the news from us instead of from the television. You know, you used to get upset with how many hours I was putting into Serena's case. Now you want to spend the few hours that we have free flying halfway across the country to tell her that the state is finally suing Chase."

Amara sat on the couch next to Michelle and reached over to take her hand with a somewhat guilty expression on her face. "I know, I just didn't understand back then. There's something about Serena that you can't help but love and it makes you want to go out of your way to do whatever you can to help her. I know that now and I am so sorry it took me so long to figure it out."

Michelle squeezed her hand. "Well, we should at least call her, don't you think?"

Amara nodded and reached for her phone. After a few rings, it went to her voicemail.

"Hey, guys! It's Lily. Just leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

"Hey, Lily. It's Amara. Michelle and I have some great news for you and wanted to let you know that we'll be in town tomorrow. Give us a call back when you get this." She closed the phone and leaned over to kiss Michelle on the forehead. "Tomorrow afternoon we'll be in Florida, and I'll take you and Serena out to celebrate, how does that sound?"

Michelle grinned as she laced a hand around Amara's neck and pulled her closer. "Sounds absolutely perfect."

~*.*~

Raye shook her head as she watched Lily and Darien dancing. "I wonder how long it's going to take them to figure out how they feel."

Amy sighed happily for her friend, "It could be they both know that they feel strongly towards each other but they can't identify the feeling as love just yet."

Lita smirked. "I can imagine a pissed-off Cupid is flying above them right now, forgetting the arrows, as they're obviously not needed, and just smacking them upside the head with the bow instead."

The girls laughed, none of them able to hear the quiet ring coming from Lily's purse over the music.

Darien didn't realize the song had ended, but immediately saddened when he felt Lily's head lift from his chest. He smiled down at her and sighed, "Well, thank you so much for the dance and I look forward to being able to do more than just swaying very soon. I'm counting on that, you know."

Serena grinned up at him. "You'll be dancing circles around everybody out here in no time."

Darien reached up, brushed a stray hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Letting his hand linger for a moment, he finally took a step back and laid her arm through his as he escorted her back to the girls. "Well, I should probably get back to chaperoning. Thank you again for the dance." He smiled at Lily and then disappeared into the crowd.

"Oh, man… You've got it bad."

Serena looked over at Raye. "Got what? I don't know what you're talking about."

Lita rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Lily… I've known Darien for years. Trust me when I say the feeling between you two is mutual."

Serena couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she thought about Lita's words. She kept running into Darien the rest of the night as he made his way around the room. It had almost turned into a game to see who could spot the other one first. She finally made her way over to the water jug to pull away from the intense crowd and was about to fill her cup when she felt a presence behind her.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight."

Serena gasped and turned around quickly only to find herself face-to-face with Alan. She was done being nice. "You would say that about anything with breasts and two legs." She turned back around to pour her water.

"Hey, no need to get all mad. It was a compliment."

She took a huge gulp of cool water and turned back around to glare at him. "Let me make something clear to you. I don't like you and you don't deserve Mina. So do us all a favor and choke on your 'compliments'." Before Alan could respond, Serena was storming off back to her friends. She had enough of this dance for the night and it seemed the girls were in agreement. Serena watched as Alan kissed Mina goodnight and felt her blood boiling as he winked at her when he waved them goodbye.

She couldn't find Darien to say goodnight to him, but she knew she would see him in the morning so she and the others headed back to the parking lot. Lita took the other girls back and Serena rode with Mina back to the apartments.

"You guys don't like Alan, do you?"

Serena looked over at Mina and sighed. "Mina… It's just that we see a different Alan than you do. We're worried about you. We know that you deserve so much better than him and we don't want you to settle. That's all." She was surprised when Mina started nodding.

"I know he doesn't seem like a great guy, but he's trying. He really is. I just want to give him a chance, ya know?"

Serena looked out the window as they pulled into the garage of the complex. "Mina, we can't force you to break up with him… but I just want you to know, those are the exact things I told myself about Chase. I kept talking myself out of it, thinking he would get better… and look at where that got me."

They didn't speak of Alan any more that night, but Serena hoped she at least put some doubt into Mina's mind. Mina needed to be the one to make the decision to leave him. If the girls forced it out of her, she would always be looking back.

After retrieving Artemis, and deciding she would pick the presents up later, she smiled. "Serena, this was the best birthday I ever could have asked for."

Grinning, Serena hugged her sister. "I'm so glad you had a great day. And Mina? Just know that whatever you decide, we'll be here for you no matter what happens."

Mina took a deep breath and nodded. "That means so much to me, thank you…" She hesitantly started heading down the hall to her apartment and finally stopped and turned around. "Serena, something you said earlier has been worrying me…" At her sister's confused expression, she continued. "What's going to happen, you know, when you tell Amara and Michelle about me?"

Serena sighed and shook her head. "Mina, I honestly don't know. I'll think of something to say to them… to make them understand. It's best if I do it in person and I'm sure it will be awhile before they can find the time to come down and visit me so we have time to figure something out, don't worry." Somewhere, deep down in her heart, Serena knew that everything would work out; it had to. She didn't know how it would, but for once things seemed to be going right in her life; they would understand.

Assured, Mina smiled and nodded. "Sweet dreams, Serena."

Serena grinned. "Sweet dreams." She turned and headed into her apartment, immediately evacuating the shoes Mina had chosen for her and rubbing her aching feet across the carpet. Tossing her purse onto the coffee table, she made her way to the bedroom and changed into a tank top and short cotton gym shorts. It had been a long, but wonderful, day and finally being able to relax in her comfortable bed was just icing on the cake.

Darien was the last thing on her mind before she finally drifted off to sleep.

~*.*~

In the living room, sitting innocently on the coffee table, was her purse. And inside the purse was a phone that still had one new voicemail.

* * *

_**Please Review!**_

_Hope you all liked it!_


	15. Smooth Move, Mina

_I am SO sorry for how long I made you all wait for an update! I have a heavy class-load this semester, but I wanted to get something out there before I got buried in Finals.  
Thank you to all of those who sent me messages and reviewed on the last chapter! Hopefully this was worth the wait :)_

_This chapter was actually supposed to take up about two weeks of the story, but when I reached 17 pages after just writing about 1 day, I decided to find a good stopping point so you guys wouldn't have a novel to read!  
_

_Again, thank you to **AngelONight** for being an absolutely AWESOME beta!_

_Hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Smooth Move, Mina**

* * *

Darien glanced at his watch briefly before standing up and heading to the elevator. He had been waiting for over a half hour for Lily to meet him in the lobby for her self-defense lesson and just sitting there watching the stairwell door was making him antsy. Stepping out on the 3rd floor, he made his way to Lily's apartment and knocked on the door.

~*.*~

Serena woke up suddenly to the sound of someone knocking and rubbed her eyes as she glanced over at the clock. She gasped and leapt out of bed towards the door. Swinging it open, she immediately started pouring out apologies. "Darien, I am SO sorry! I forgot to set my alarm last night and I know that's no excuse but I am so, so, so, sorry! It's not too late, is it? I just need 5 minutes to get dressed!"

Darien was speechless as he stared at the petite woman in front of him. Her tousled, golden hair hung down to frame her beautiful face and her wide, apologetic blue eyes still held a drowsy-glaze. He grinned as he remembered the first time he met her and couldn't believe how quickly this disheveled Goddess had waltzed right into his life. Her voice was distant but it was enough to snap him out of his reverie. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I just asked if we still had time." She stepped out of the doorway, inviting him in. "It won't take me long to get ready."

Darien nodded as he walked into her living room. "Yeah, we still have plenty of time. No need to rush. Ken agreed to let me rearrange one of the conference rooms, so I pushed all the tables and chairs out of the way already."

Serena smiled brightly. "Okay! I'll be right back, make yourself at home."

He watched as Lily left the room and took the opportunity to look around her apartment. Darien had seen it briefly the night before, but didn't realize just how bare it really was. The only decorations he could see were pictures on her mantle. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were only pictures of Lily and her current friends. As easily likeable as Lily seemed to be, he was surprised that she didn't have more pictures of either her parents or previous friends.

Darien turned when he heard Lily shuffling back into the living room, a black, furry blur following closely behind her. She had changed into a maroon tank top and black yoga pants and was currently in the process of pulling her long blonde hair back into a pony tail.

Serena smiled as she made her way to Darien's side. "Since we have time, would you like a cup of coffee?"

Darien shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though." He followed Lily into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "You know, coffee stunts your growth. With the amount of coffee you drink, that would probably explain why you're so short."

Serena dropped the bag of coffee onto the counter and turned towards him with her hands on her hips. "Hey! Have you ever considered the possibility that you're just freakishly tall?" She proceeded to fix her coffee when she saw him grin. "Besides, I'll have you know that I am taller than the average height of an adult woman in the United States by almost an inch. YOU, on the other hand, are like 6 inches above the average height for a man. So when you really think about it, you're the one with the height issues."

Darien laughed. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you've had that argument prepared for awhile."

Serena smiled as she reached up to get a coffee cup from the cabinet. "Well, when you live in a world where guys think that they have to make fun of you in order to get to know you, then you have to be prepared for just about anything."

Darien felt his cheeks flush. That was exactly why he had mentioned her height, but he wasn't about to admit that now. Nodding his head, he cleared his throat and watched her pour a cup of coffee. "Yeah, I can see how that would be annoying."

Serena shrugged. "Not necessarily annoying… I just wish that people would ask me what they want to ask me."

Darien tilted his head to the side as he spoke tentatively. "And if someone were to be straight-forward with their questions you would be just as straight-forward with your answers?"

Serena took a cautiously slow sip of her coffee before responding in the same joking-manner as before. "Nope, I never said that. I just meant that it would be a refreshing change."

"So, if I were to ask you a question, would you be honest with me?"

Serena finished her coffee and set the cup down on the counter. "I would be as honest as I could." She could sense that it wasn't the response Darien was looking for and sighed. "Let me go brush my teeth and then we can head downstairs."

~*.*~

"Wow, do we really need this much room?"

Darien shrugged. "Well, you're going to be teaching me some dance moves later, right?"

Serena nodded. "Yes, but I won't be showing you anything that I need this much space for... Not today anyway, but I suppose it will be helpful for future lessons."

"That's what I figured. So are you ready?"

Serena stretched her arms out a little bit and then went to stand in front of him. "Okay, let's do this."

~*.*~

Over the next hour, Serena realized just how serious Darien was about her learning how to defend herself. She was absolutely certain that she was well beyond anything Darien had planned on teaching in the class. Serena wished that she had taken the time to learn self-defense before now. She knew that she was still no match for Chase's strength and that she had a lot to learn, but with practice she was certain that the next time she and Chase came face-to-face, she would at least be able to give him a bruise.

Darien shook his head as he sat down in a chair. "I've never seen someone take to self-defense like you have… now the real test will be to see how much you can remember tomorrow."

Serena grinned as she sat in a chair next to him. She was surprised how much Darien's approval meant to her. "Well, I'll do my best."

Darien nodded. "I know you will… Lily, I'm proud of you."

She looked at him incredulously. "Proud of me? What for?"

"For working on overcoming your fears. The reason I wanted to give you these extra lessons was because of the reaction I received from you on campus… you know, when I grabbed your wrist." He saw she was about to interrupt and raised his hand to stop her. "I'm not asking for any explanations unless you'd like to talk about it. All I'm saying is that I want to make sure whatever happened to you before doesn't happen to you again. For a lot of women that deal with… difficult situations… learning self-defense is a step in the right direction to having more faith in themselves." Darien smirked softly and grinned. "Listen to me, I'm starting to sound like a commercial."

Serena smiled slightly. "That, or the beginnings of a truly inspirational self-help book."

Darien chuckled, hearing the obvious sarcasm in her voice. "Yeah, well… you know what I mean though, right?"

Serena sighed and nodded. "I do know what you mean and I already know that I deserve better… It just seems that every time I get my life figured out, something happens that reminds me and I just have to build my world back up again."

Darien reached forward and squeezed her hand gently, feeling his heart go out for her. "Well, just know that if you ever need anything… someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or a cup of sugar, I'm always here."

Serena laughed. "Sure, Darien, if I need any _sugar_ yours will be the first door I knock on."

Darien rolled his eyes and smiled, running his thumb across the top of her hand.

Serena's heart felt like it would pound out of her chest at any moment. She watched as he reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear with his other hand. Her breathing quickened as his hand cupped her cheek. She was trying so hard to keep her conscience at bay. It's true, he didn't know the first thing about her… not really, anyway. But the only thing that she could think about in this one moment was a kiss that she wanted so badly.

Darien couldn't believe what was finally about to happen. Since the first moment he saw her, all he wanted to do was make her happy. Now she was sitting right in front of him, staring into his eyes. It was as if the world around them disappeared. He dragged his thumb gently across the graceful arch of her lips and watched as her eyes closed and her lips parted. Finally, after all this time, Darien closed his eyes and leaned forward.

"So how is the lesson going?"

Serena and Darien both stood up suddenly as their eyes snapped open. They both turned around and watched as Ken entered the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Did I interrupt something?" Ken couldn't keep the smile from his face as he stared at the blushing couple.

"No, no. Not at all. We were just about to start the ballroom dancing lesson, actually." Serena did her best to steady her voice as she walked to the middle of the room.

"Oh, okay. Well, I don't want to stop you. I just stopped by to see if you and Mina would like to come over for dinner tomorrow night."

Serena smiled brightly. "Well, I can't speak for Mina, but I would love to!"

"Well, when you see her, would you mind extending the invitation for me?" Once Lily nodded, Ken smiled. "Excellent! Well, I will see you both tomorrow at 7 and hopefully Mina as well." As Ken left the room, Serena sent a questioning look at Darien.

Darien shrugged slightly. "He invited me earlier while I was waiting for you and setting up the room…" he hesitated, suddenly unsure if she wanted him around after what just happened, "Is that a problem?"

Serena shook her head. "No, of course not." She sighed when Darien took a few steps toward her, as she was fairly certain it was to continue what had just been interrupted. "Look, Darien… I like you… a lot, actually, but I'm just not where I can get involved with anyone right now. I have a lot going on and it wouldn't be fair to you." When Darien stopped a foot away from her, she felt relieved and, at the same time, sad.

Darien sighed, surprised at how much his heart ached at not being able to touch her. "I understand. I don't want to rush you into something you're not ready for." He hesitantly brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. "But when you are ready, you'll keep me in mind?"

Serena put her hand over his and leaned into his touch. "Darien, I promise, when I'm ready, you're all I would ever want."

The sincerity in her voice almost broke his heart with happiness. He pulled her close to him and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead as he encased her into a hug.

Serena didn't think that she could ever feel any safer than right here in Darien's arms. She took a deep breath of his cologne and snuggled deeper into the embrace.

Darien rested his cheek on top of her head. "As long as we can be friends, I'll wait as long as you need me to."

Serena pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "Of course we'll still be friends! Thanks for being so understanding."

Darien grinned, taking a long moment to relish the feel of her in his arms, finally took a step back and held her at an arms length. "So, are you going to teach me how to dance or not?"

Serena smiled, placing her right hand into his and reached back to put his other hand on her shoulder blade. She lifted her eyes to his and felt her heart skip. Being this close to him, especially after what just happened was doing strange, but enjoyable, things to her body. For a moment, she didn't trust her voice and just stood there staring into his eyes. Finally, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and took a deep steadying breath. It was going to be a long morning.

Over the course of the dancing lesson, Serena was surprised at how easily she and Darien were able to fall back into their regular bantering. Of course, their bantering now included a substantial amount of underlying sexual tension that neither one of them were about to admit to. Darien wasn't exactly picking up dancing as quickly as he would have liked, but he kept a positive attitude about his mistakes and never gave any indication that he was getting frustrated.

As the lesson wrapped up, Serena smiled and nudged Darien with her elbow. "I'm proud of you too, you know."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Serena shrugged. "Well, usually when people don't learn something as fast as they would like they get irritated and short-tempered."

"Well, I doubt they had such a beautiful and patient teacher."

Serena felt her face flush. "We still on for tomorrow morning?"

Darien nodded as they made their way out to the lobby. "Yeah, if someone can wake up on time."

Serena rolled her eyes and headed to the stairs. She turned around when she realized Darien had stopped at the elevator. "You know, it's healthier to take the stairs."

Darien grinned. "Yeah, but it's easier to take the elevator. One of these days you should try it."

Serena shook her head as she made her way up the stairs. When she got to the third floor she was surprised to see Mina knocking on her door. "Mina, I gave you a key for a reason."

Mina looked over at her and blushed. "I just felt weird using it when you weren't home."

"Isn't that kind of the point?" Serena giggled as she unlocked her door.

"I suppose so. I just wanted my presents! Where have you been so early in the morning?"

"I was downstairs with Darien. He's giving me extra self-defense lessons and I'm giving him ballroom dancing lessons." Serena smiled, sure that Mina would make a big deal out of it.

Mina's eyebrows shot up. "OOooooOOOoooo…" She laughed when Serena rolled her eyes. "So how did it go?" Mina saw a blush creep onto her sister's cheeks and gasped in excitement. "What happened? Tell me! Tell me!"

"Nothing, really…" Serena tried, but she couldn't keep the grin off of her face. She laughed when Mina huffed and put her hands on her hips.

"Spill, Sere-" Mina's eyes went wide as she snapped her mouth shut and flushed. "Sorry, I meant, Lily."

Serena smiled endearingly. "Mina, this is my apartment… it's a safe place. Feel free to call me whatever you want while we're here."

"Fine, fine, but don't change the subject!"

"We just… well, we almost kissed… again."

"Again? This is amazing! Serena, why didn't you tell me!"

Serena cringed back at the accusatory tone, laced with excitement, and held her hands up in defense as Mina appeared to grow an inch. "I would have told you but I knew this was how you would react… getting all excited and everything."

Mina's heels dropped back down to the floor and bit her lip as she shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm cool."

Serena rolled her eyes as she tried not to smile. "It's just that starting a relationship right now, with everything that's going on, wouldn't be fair… to him or to me."

Mina sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right… but you guys are so cute together! Why can't you just-" She was interrupted when her cell phone rang. She groaned as she took it out of her purse. "I have to go, but I expect to hear ALL of the details when I get home and I promise I won't get too excited!"

Serena laughed as they walked to the door. "I promise, I promise. I have to study for a test, so I'll be looking forward to a break anyway."

"Ew, you have fun with that. I'm gonna go get dressed up and have people tell me how pretty I am."

Serena shook her head. "You have such a hard life, how do you manage?"

Mina stuck her tongue out at her sister and walked out the door.

Giggling to herself, Serena headed over to the couch and flopped down, snatching one of her school books from the coffee table. Making herself comfortable, she started reading and for five minutes she did her best to stay awake, but sleep finally won out.

Two hours later, Serena was startled awake, yet again, by someone knocking on the door. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up and glanced at the clock. Grumbling, she made her way to the door. With Mina back, there's no way she would be able to fit any studying in for the rest of the night. She opened the door and her eyes suddenly snapped open in surprise. "Michelle! Amara!"

Michelle grinned as she gave Serena a big hug. "Hi, sweetie! We know we're running a little early, but I'm so happy to see you!"

Serena's heart started beating faster as her surprise quickly changed to something resembling terror. She was expecting to have more time to collect her thoughts about how to explain to them about Mina. Trying to buy some time to think, she took a step back from the door and invited them in. "Running early? Were we supposed to have a meeting or something? "

Michelle raised her eyebrows and glanced confusingly at Amara before looking back at Serena. "Did you not get our call? We called you last night telling you we would be in town today…"

Slapping her forehead, Serena sighed. "No, I'm so sorry! We had the dance party last night and this morning I was dragged out of bed and when I got back I fell asleep! I didn't even think to check my phone, I'm so sorry!"

Michelle waived her hand. "It's okay, we just had some news for you and Amara and I had a day off so we thought we would take you out to dinner and catch up!"

"Um, yeah! Sure, that sounds great." Serena went to get her purse. "So what's this news you have for me?"

Amara grinned. "Well, I guess it would be best to probably talk about it here. We just wanted you to know that, with your help, the state of Washington finally has enough evidence to sue Chase. The paperwork just went through yesterday."

Serena teared up immediately at the news and sat down slowly on the couch, joined soon after by Michelle. "So… this is almost over?"

"Well, we still have a ways to go, but it's a promising start. Now that we've finally gotten to this point it shouldn't be too much longer. We just thought you'd like to know that progress is finally being made."

Serena nodded, her heart almost refusing to beat. "Yes, thank you…" Running her hands through her hair, she sighed. "I just can't wait until this is all over-with."

"We know, sweetie. I can only imagine how hard this is for you." Michelle rubbed her back reassuringly. "We're so proud of –"

Michelle was interrupted when Serena's door swung open to reveal an excited Mina. "Serena, you will NOT guess what happened at work to-" Mina gasped and snapped her mouth shut when she saw Serena wasn't alone.

In this moment, Serena's heart did stop beating as she felt Michelle tense up next to her and saw Amara suddenly look at her with wide-eyes.

After a moment of painful silence, Amara stormed towards Mina and slammed the door closed behind her. Gripping Mina's upper arm tightly, Amara escorted her to the living room and, with a little anger behind it, pushed Mina down into a vacant seat.

Serena would have spoken but Amara seemed just about on the verge of exploding. After a few moments, Michelle cleared her throat and broke the silence.

"Amara, perhaps before we jump to conclusions, we should hear what Serena has to say. That way we can react to all of the information rather thanto just what we know so far." After a moment, Amara took a steadying breath and turned to look at Serena, seeming at the end of her rope. Michelle rubbed Serena's back reassuringly. "Okay, start from the beginning and don't leave _anything_ out."

Swallowing slowly, Serena a long moment to gather her thoughts. "When I went to Washington last week, I wanted to leave a note for Mina but you said she would ask too many questions… When she didn't get an answer from me and didn't know where I was, she got Sammy to open the door in case I was in trouble or something." She hesitantly turned towards Amara. "As you know, before I left I pulled out my box of photos and they were still out when Mina went into my bedroom. She found a picture of me with my father, holding an award for 'Serena Thompson.' It took her a few days to talk to me about it, but when she finally did I wasn't expecting at all what she had to say."

Serena took a deep breath as she started telling them what happened. By the time she finished, Amara was sitting down and everyone else had tears in their eyes. It was important to Serena that they understand how much this meant to her. She was extremely concerned that they would relocate her since Mina knew about her, but she also knew that Mina wouldn't tell anybody and, more than that, Serena really didn't think that she would be able to go on without Mina's support.

Before Michelle and Amara could respond, Serena continued. "I had nothing left before I met Mina. Having Mina, it feels like my life has purpose again, beyond just putting Chase in jail. For the first time in a long time, I finally feel like fighting again."

Michelle started rubbing Serena's back reassuringly again and took a deep breath as she looked over at Amara. "May I speak with you privately, please?"

Serena watched as Amara nodded her head and stood up and walked into the kitchen with Michelle in toe. When they were out-of-sight, Mina immediately came over to sit next to her, tears in her eyes.

"Serena, I am SO sorry! I didn't mean to just burst in here and spill your secret like that!"

Smiling, Serena tried to calm her sister down. "Mina, it's okay. It's not you fault. I told you to help yourself into my apartment and to call me whatever you want while you are here. If anyone is at fault, it's me."

Mina shook her head and took Serena's hand. "They're not going to make you move are they? They can't do that, I won't tell anybody, I promise!"

Seeing the terrified look in Mina's eyes, Serena tried her best to comfort her, despite the fact that she was worried about what was going to happen as well. "I know, I know. Let's just wait and see what they decide to do. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to make it without you. If they-" she was interrupted when Michelle and Amara walked back into the room.

Michelle spoke first, as she started looking back-and-forth between the two girls sitting on the couch. "Amara and I have talked about it… and since nothing like this has happened before, it would be wrong of us to just blindly follow regulations without discussing it further. For the time being, we will not relocate you, but-" she was cut off when Serena leaped forward and gave her a huge hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Serena, we don't want you to get your hopes up too much. It may come to relocation but we're just going to look into it further to see what other options we have."

Serena nodded slightly at Amara's clarification. "I understand. I know you two will try your hardest."

Mina stood up, excitedly. "If it helps any, I promise not to blindly barge into any more rooms and call her Serena."

Everyone laughed and Michelle took a few steps towards Mina and held out her hand. "Well, I guess it's time that we were formally introduced. I'm Michelle, as you know, and this is Amara. We would certainly like to get to know you better, so what would you think if we took you both out to dinner?"

Mina glanced hesitantly over at Serena before smiling shyly. "I would like that very much, thank you."

As if on cue, Serena's stomach grumbled loudly, causing her to blush. "Well, I guess you know my answer."

Michelle and Amara chuckled as they headed out the door. During the ride to the restaurant, Michelle, having noticed Mina's accent, asked her more about her background and family. Even though she had every right, Serena couldn't find it within her to be upset with her father for getting involved with Mina's mother.

Mina's voice fell into the background as Serena silently shook her head. It was so funny how things worked out. The only reason she ended up here in Florida was because she had gotten involved with Chase and he had been relentless in his search for her. So if Chase hadn't been the bastard that he was, she never would have met her sister, Darien, or the other girls. While the saying 'it was almost too good to be true' didn't entirely fit for this situation, it was the closest thing Serena could come up with.

When they finally got seated to the restaurant, Serena suddenly gasped. "Mina, in all this excitement, I almost forgot about what you said when you came in earlier. What happened at work?"

Mina suddenly got a huge glow in her eyes. "Oh! You will not believe it! Okay, so first I get to work and all the girls in the dressing room were running around in a panic to get ready. I didn't know what was going on at first, because it was just supposed to be a basic photo shoot, but when I turned around, Marco De'Viasser was standing RIGHT behind me!" She glanced expectantly at the others, waiting their reaction. When she didn't get anything but blank stares she frowned. "Marco De'Viasser, people! The GOD of the modeling industry!" When she was met with silence yet again, her eyes bulged. "How do you not know who he is? ANYway, during the photo shoot, he asked me if he could represent me! I'm signing a contract tomorrow and he already has two gigs lined up for me and the pictures they took today are going to be in all the major magazines and they're even thinking about making a commercial!"

Now that Mina had said something that the other girls understood, she suddenly received all the astonishment and praise she had been looking for.

"Oh my goodness, Mina, that's fantastic! Congratulations!" Serena turned and hugged her. "I'm so proud of you!"

After Michelle and Amara congratulated her as well, Mina sighed happily. "I'm finally getting close to the acting career that I've always wanted! I can't believe it" Mina turned towards Michelle and Amara and flushed slightly. "I actually tried to get Lily to start modeling with me when I first met her, but I can certainly understand why she didn't."

Michelle smiled. "No, that certainly wouldn't be in her best interest." After a short pause, she continued. "While I've been sitting here watching you two, I can definitely see the similarities in your appearance and mannerisms. It's just so hard to believe that, after everything that has happened, Lily gets placed right down the hall from a sister she didn't even know about." Although there was a certain amount of doubt in Michelle's voice, it was more astonishment that anything else.

Mina grinned, nudging Serena slightly. "Yeah, we kind of couldn't believe it as well. Lily just stared blankly at me when I first told her about our father."

Serena nudged Mina back gently. "Well, what did you expect me to do? It _is _kind of unbelievable."

Amara nodded as Serena finished her sentence. Conversation paused as the waiter placed their food on the table and made sure they had everything they needed. Once it was just the four of them within' earshot again, Amara continued with what she was about to say. "Have you guys thought of getting a DNA test done to be sure, rather than getting your hopes up that you're really sisters?"

Serena sighed as she pushed her food around the plate with her fork. "I had thought about it, but I don't think I want to. While I'm 99% sure what the results would say, there's that 1% that isn't sure. In just the short amount of time I've known her, Mina's just so much a part of my life and I don't think it really matters." She turned to Mina. "Does it matter to you?"

Mina shook her head and gave Serena's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Even if the test came back saying we weren't blood-relatives, like you said it wouldn't change how we feel about each other. You'd still be my sister!" Mina grinned, as she grabbed one of the steak knives sitting on the table. "We could do a blood oath and everything!"

Serena laughed at Mina's joke and sighed in relief. What she left unsaid before was that if the test didn't come back saying they were sisters, she was afraid that they would drift apart with the knowledge that they aren't really related. Since Mina is such a driving force in her life right now, Serena didn't know if she would be able to handle that. But Mina, as always, put her mind at ease.

Michelle smiled at the playfulness between the two girls and finally looked towards Serena. "I understand your hesitation, but if anything should happen to you, for any reason, if Mina is in fact your sister, documentation of it will guarantee that all of your belongings go to her."

Mina suddenly got tears in her eyes at the mere mention of harm coming to Serena. "What do you mean if anything should happen? Isn't she safe now?"

Amara sighed. "We're going to do our best to keep her safe, but he-who-must-not-be-named isn't the only reason something might happen to her."

Serena shook her head, trying to ease some of the tension that had built up around the table. "Amara, if you keep wording it like that, people are going to think I'm being chased by Voldemort."

Everyone giggled except Amara, who seemed to be completely lost.

Once the laughter died down, they finally turned their attention back to the food in front of them. After a few moments, Serena took a break from her delicious steak and started speaking softly. "If we do get the DNA test, regardless of what it says, I can see to it that all of my belongings could go to Mina, right?"

Michelle dabbed her mouth with her napkin as she thought about her response. "Yes, after a fashion, but it would be extremely complicated to do it that way. It would be in your will, basically. However, explaining the relationship would be much more difficult. We can do it, but I'd rather not go that route if we can prevent it."

Serena nodded slowly as she turned to Mina. "What do you think? Should we do it?" With the knowledge that Mina wouldn't go anywhere, no matter what the test said, she was feeling much better about it.

Mina frowned. "Yeah, I guess it's a good idea…" Hesitating for a moment, she continued with a tentative tone. "I just don't want us to do it just because there's a chance you might get hurt…"

Michelle reached across the table and squeezed Mina's hand briefly. "It would only be as a precaution. I promise we're going to do everything we can to keep her safe."

Mina shook her head slowly, as she furrowed her brows in what looked to resemble anger. "No offense… but you guys haven't done a very good job of that in the past."

Serena gasped at the expression on her sister's face and the tone of her voice. "Mina! It's not their fault!"

"But they haven't! He's found you, what, four times now? Forgive me for being so frank, but it's the truth." Michelle and Amara were looking extremely guilty at the moment, so Mina brought up another issue she had been concerned about. "Most of it is just that you guys aren't always here… so if something happens, there's always going to be a delay in your response-time."

Michelle nodded sadly. It was true, because they weren't on-scene when Serena had been in trouble, there was always a panic to get to her in time and Mina was right, sometimes they had cut it just too close. "I understand your concern, Yes, as it has been a problem in the past, but we don't have enough man-power to be with her 100% of the time. As much as we would like to have someone here, it just unfortunately isn't possible."

"What if, and don't yell at me… what if we told Darien?" She turned to Serena and quickly continued, as she could tell she was about to be interrupted. "You guys hang out all the time and he already is concerned about your welfare, with all of the extra self-defense lessons and everything. Also, he lives in the same apartment complex as we do so if we needed anything, he wouldn't be too far away… and he's in the FBI! Why can't we trust him?" It just seemed like such an obvious solution to Mina, that she had to suggest it.

Although it looked like Amara and Michelle might actually have been considering it as a viable option, Amara finally shook her head and sighed. "You bring up some good points, but it's not that simple, Mina. One of the key goals of this program is to keep her identity safe. Strictly speaking, if one person finds out, we should relocate her. I basically grew up with Darien, and IF he found out it wouldn't be the end of the world because I know he can be trusted. However, we're so close to putting all of this behind us that it would be foolish to risk that by needlessly telling more people."

Serena broke into the conversation. "Mina, I didn't even want you to know. And yes, I'm fairly certain that Darien, even the other girls, wouldn't tell anyone else about who I really am. But, that's not even why I don't want them to know… Right now, I'm only Lily, a girl with a vague past, but a girl worth loving. If they find out…" Serena sighed. "I just don't want them to think the girl they've gotten to know isn't really who I am… I mean, my personality. I've felt more like myself recently than I have in the past few years…"

Serena tailed off so Michelle stepped in. "You also don't want them to treat you any differently. Not only that, but you want them to be friends with you because they like spending time with you, not because they feel sorry for you." Michelle sighed softly as Serena started nodding. "You forget we've had this conversation before." Michelle smiled lovingly at her charge. "From what you tell me of the other girls and from what I have heard of Darien, I don't think that they're going to go anywhere, no matter what you tell them."

Sighing, Serena's shoulders sagged. "I know… These are the best friends I have ever had. I just would rather that they not know… I like the way things are now. I don't want them to change."

Mina chimed in as a grin broke across her face. "But if Darien knew, then you guys could be together!"

Amara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You and Darien?"

Serena blushed and shook her head. "He's just being really nice, that's all."

Smirking, Mina crossed her arms and decided to fill in the giant gap that Serena had in her story. "She forgot to mention that they almost kissed. Twice."

"Minnaa!" The girls laughed and after a little teasing from Amara and Michelle, Serena brought them back to the issue-at-hand. "I just want to be completely done with my last relationship before I start a new one. Like I told Mina earlier, it wouldn't be fair to him if we start a relationship and he doesn't know everything."

Michelle nodded. "You're right, that wouldn't be fair to him. While I understand your reasoning behind it, from what I hear he does seem to care a lot about you."

Serena sighed. "I know he does… and honestly, when this is all over with, all I want to do is be with him. Let him get to know the real me without a giant secret over my head and me not having to worry about whether or not today is my last day of freedom."

Mina reached over to give Serena a hug. "Everything will be okay. I'll protect you!"

Serena giggled through her tears. "What, are you going to stab him with one of your stilettos?"

Mina's first reaction was to cringe. The very thought of getting her beautiful shoes dirty almost made her want to faint. "Preferably not, but rest-assured, if my shoes are the last thing standing between you and harm, then I'll gladly sacrifice them to the cause."

All of the girls laughed as they got up from the table and made their way back to the car.

Michelle slowed down her pace so that she could walk next to Serena. "I haven't met Darien, yet, but Amara tells me wonderful things about him. If he's all that she says he is, then he sounds like quite a catch." Michelle smiled over at Serena as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed affectionately.

Serena sighed dreamily and nodded. "Why couldn't I have just found him first?" The only answer she received was another gentle squeeze to her shoulders.

~*.*~

When they arrived back at the hotel, Darien was standing in the lobby waiting on the elevator and turned casually towards the noise. Serena felt her heart skip a beat when their eyes met and a large grin spread across his face. His grin faltered, however, when he seemed to noticed the other people in the group. He blinked in surprise.

"Amara?"

Amara smirked at his vacant expression. She reached her hand forward and they clasped hands. coming together in a hug. "Darien! Long time, no see!"

"Yeah, no joke! What are you doing here?" He glanced questioningly at Serena.

Amara reached over and snatched Serena in for a side-hug. "Just visiting my girl while I'm here on business."

Darien and Michelle both raised their eyebrows as Serena flushed heavily and Mina giggled.

"What I think Amara means, is that while we're here on business, we decided to take Lily and her friend out to dinner to catch up. I'm Michelle, by the way." She held out her hand. "I've heard wonderful things about you."

Amara wrapped her other arm around Michelle's shoulders as Darien shook her hand. "You knew what I meant. Besides, you're both my girls. My statement still stands."

Michelle shook her head and turned back to Darien. "So, Lily tells me you've been giving her self-defense lessons."

"Yeah, and she's a pretty fast learner, too. She'll have me pinned in no time." Darien winked in Serena's direction, causing her to blush.

Michelle's mouth was about to open when her phone rang. "Oh, excuse me for a moment."

As Michelle walked away, Amara sighed. "Life on the job; you never any time off."

It didn't take long for Michelle to return, and when she did she had a rushed look on her face. "Well, Darien, it was a pleasure to meet you, but duty calls." She pulled Serena into a hug and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. As Amara hugged Serena, Michelle reached forward and hugged Mina as well. "My dear, it was a pleasure getting to know you." She took a step back and stared at both of them intently. "We'll keep in touch."

Serena nodded as she clasped hands with Mina, understanding what Michelle meant. "Good luck. Hope you can find time to visit again soon… and thanks for stopping by and filling me in on everything that's going on."

After they left, Serena and Mina turned back to Darien. There was a moment of awkward silence before Serena and Darien both started to speak at the same time. After laughing, Darien motioned for Serena to go first.

"I was just going to say that it's getting pretty late and I want to be sure I wake up tomorrow morning on time for our lesson. I don't want you to have to come and wake me up, again."

Darien turned and pushed the elevator button again, he sent a wink back at Lily. "I didn't really mind, you know."

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't. I would just much rather have the option of hitting a snooze button."

Darien laughed. He could definitely see her as one of those people that hit their snooze buttons five times before actually getting up. "Well, if you can get down here on time and remember everything I taught you this morning, maybe I'll be inclined to take you to a celebratory lunch."

Serena blushed as Mina elbowed her gently in the side. "We'll see." When the elevator opened, she took that as a sign that the conversation was coming to an end. "Well, goodnight Darien! I'll see you in the morning." She turned to head towards the stairs.

Darien leaned back against the entrance to the elevator so that it wouldn't close on him and crossed his arms, watching her for a moment. "You know, one of these days I'm going to find a way to get you to take the elevator with me."

Serena turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. "I bet I can find a way to get you to take the stairs first."

Darien raised his eyebrows with exaggerated interest. "Is that a challenge?"

Serena grinned as she shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Leaving a plotting Darien standing there, half in the lobby and half in the elevator, Mina and Serena finally made their way through the doors and up the stairs. It didn't take long for Mina to start giggling and talking about what a cute couple they would make and how adorable their children would be. Serena just shook her head at her sister as they finally came to the third floor and hugged in front of Serena's door.

As she pulled away from the hug, Mina held one hand firm on Serena's shoulder as she used the other hand to help emphasize her words. "I know we got interrupted today, but I still expect you to tell me all the details! You're not off the hook with that, you know!"

Serena laughed. "I never dreamed I would be." As Serena unlocked her door, she gasped and turned back to Mina, who had made it a few feet down the hall. "Oh! I almost forgot, Ken invited us over for dinner tomorrow night. Will you be able to make it?"

Mina turned briefly and winked, holding up one of her hands in a peace sign. "Wouldn't miss it for the world! Night, Sis!"

Shaking her head, Serena made her way into the apartment and leaned back against the door, thinking about what the next day had in store for her. It was basically going to be an entire day spent with Darien. First with the lessons, then lunch, and then dinner at Ken's. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a long day.

* * *

_Ooo, tomorrow sounds like it's going to be interesting! I wonder what will happen!_

_Please review and tell me what you think!_

**_Reviews motivate me to write faster!_**

_Tip of the Day: Don't bungee jump from a telephone wire._


	16. Revelations

_I cannot apologize enough for how long it has taken me to post this! In the last year, I got my  
Bachelor's Degree with a 4.0! On a sadder note, my mom got sick and, though she is now better,  
it was a very difficult time for my family. I had to move and I even went to New York to get away  
for awhile. SO, it has been an extremely hectic year but I hope you all will forgive me!_

_I'm going to do my best to update more regularly, but just remember that I will never stop writing  
this story :)_

_Those of you that kept messaging me about updating, I want to thank you for the constant feedback!  
It really meant a lot!_

_Again, thank you to_******AngelONight**_ for being an absolutely AWESOME beta!_

_Please review!_

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Revelations**

* * *

In the efforts of not being late two days in a row, Serena was prepared to leave fifteen minutes before they had planned to meet downstairs. She definitely didn't want to give Darien another reason to make fun of her, like he needed any help with that.

Glancing in the mirror once more before heading out the door, Darien entered her mind and she sighed. Closing her eyes, she remembered what it felt like to be close to him. His fingers running across the top of her hand, sending shivers up and down her spine; the warmth of his hand as it cupped her cheek and the excited beat of her heart as his thumb caressed her lips.

As if it smacked her out of her reverie, Serena's eyes snapped open as her jaw clenched.

Yesterday, she had crossed a line – a line that she promised herself she wouldn't cross until everything with Chase was finished. Although she cared for Darien greatly, it was necessary to keep him at arms length. As much as it was going to hurt, getting involved with him right now was not something either of them needed.

Still, it couldn't hurt to look cute. Serena glimpsed once again in the mirror and smoothed her shirt before she headed out the door. As she got closer to the staircase, she frowned. The door was crossed with yellow tape and had a sign that said 'Under Construction'. Sighing, Serena glanced back towards the elevator. Slowly making her way over to it, she stared at the intimidating metal doors.

**~*~*~Four Years before~*~*~**

It had been a long night of drinking and socializing for Chase, and Serena knew what was coming her way. After the way she had behaved this evening, she deserved what was about to happen. She hadn't taken two steps out of the car before Chase was right next to her, gripping her arm tightly. Serena gasped and tried to jerk away, but that just caused him to tighten his hold.

To anyone in the apartment lobby, it looked like they were just a beautiful couple coming home from an evening of fun and dancing. It was amazing how Chase could put up such a façade for others. Serena took a deep breath as they waited for one of the elevators. It was probably the only deep breath she would be able to take for the next couple of weeks.

Serena was startled as the elevator dinged, declaring its arrival to the lobby. She sighed as she was guided to the open doors and Chase shoved her into the elevator. He pushed the button that would take them to the top floor and Serena watched as the elevator doors closed and Chase turned around to face her.

Serena backed up against the wall and shook her head. "Chase, I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to question you. I know that. There's no reason to-" her sentence was cut off as Chase gripped her chin roughly. He brought his face in close to hers and she had to try her best not to flinch away from his alcohol-filled breath.

"Your only job is to get me what I want," he paused for emphasis. "And if I want another drink, what do you think you should do?"

Raising her hands to his wrist, she shuddered and spoke as clearly as she could. "Get you a drink."

Releasing her almost violently, Chase turned his back to her. "Exactly."

Serena rubbed her aching chin. "I'm so sorry, Chase. I shouldn't have-"

"You're damn right you shouldn't have." Chase said venomously as he reached forward and pushed the elevator 'stop' button. The unexpected jolt from the elevator caused Serena to lose her footing and fall to the floor.

"Chase, what are you-" her voice caught in her throat when he turned around and she saw that look in his eyes. She knew what that meant. "Chase…" She scooted back as far against the wall as she could as he stalked towards her. "Chase, please…"

**~*~*~Present~*~*~**

Serena blinked away the tears, but as she hesitantly reached forward to press the elevator button, her eyes narrowed and she remembered the bet she had made with Darien the night before. Surely this wasn't Darien's attempt at getting her to take the elevator. She took a couple steps back and looked at the sign on the staircase door again.

Shrugging, she walked back towards the stairs. Finding the door unlocked, she ducked under the yellow tape and, after seeing no sign of construction, she shook her head. "Oh, Darien…" To be on the safe side, she took the stairs carefully, but when she found herself to the bottom, she was one-hundred-percent certain that Darien had something to do with this. The fact that Darien was standing in front of the lobby elevator with an amused expression on his face was only icing on the cake.

Serena grinned and made her way back up the staircase before Darien saw her and, taking the sign and yellow tape down, she walked towards the elevator, the grin still firmly planted on her face.

~*.*~

Darien couldn't wait until he saw the look on Lily's face when the elevator doors opened. He glanced at his watch and shifted to his other foot impatiently. However, he didn't have long to wait when the light for the third floor lit up. He frowned, however, when the elevator stopped at the second floor on its way down. Finally, making its way to the lobby, the elevator doors opened.

It took Darien a moment to process what was going on, as there was nobody on the elevator, but when he looked down he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. There, lying on the floor of the elevator was the 'Under Construction' sign he had written. He bent down to pick it up and turned around only to find Lily standing right behind him, a smirk on her face.

"Well, that was a fail, now, wasn't it?"

Darien gave her a lop-sided grin as he crumpled up the sign and threw it away. "It was a long-shot, I'll admit." He motioned towards the room they practiced in the day before. "Shall we?"

~*.*~

Serena's resolve was strong, but for the next couple of hours it was being chipped away bit-by-bit every time Darien touched her or looked at her with a look in his eyes that nearly made her knees buckle.

It was easier for her when they were doing the self-defense lessons, because it was mostly talking and less touching. Darien was true to his word about simply going over things she already knew. She guessed it was similar to dancing – the more you do the basics, the better you'll be able to learn the more advanced maneuvers.

When it came time for the dance lessons, however, Serena's heart quickened. Being this close to him for a prolonged period of time, the intoxicating smell of his cologne, the feel of his hand against hers, everything about him was sending shivers through her entire body. She couldn't believe what just holding his hand was doing to her.

She was impressed with how much Darien remembered from the day before, but kept with the basics just like he had with her. On multiple occasions, however, she had to pull away from him using the excuse to go over his footwork. It was amazing how much clearer she could think just being out-of-reach of him. Away from his thumb gently caressing the top of her hand and away from his fingers moving in small sensual circles on her back. Whether or not he realized what he was doing to her, she didn't know. What she did know, however, was that the longer she remained in his arms, the harder it was going to be to tell him no.

~*.*~

"And that's how you do a turning-basic in the Waltz."

Darien shook his head. "You'll probably have to go over that one again."

Serena nodded. "I know I threw that one at you, but you were doing so well with everything I taught you yesterday that I decided you could handle something new." She smiled quickly up at him and looked down, preparing to pull away, but gasped when Darien's arms tightened gently around her.

Darien wasn't ready to let her go. Staring intently into her eyes, he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "Lily… I know what you said yesterday, but what if-" he exhaled suddenly when she shoved against him and backed away.

Serena knew that if she let him finish that sentence she wouldn't be able to resist. Taking a few steps back from him, she breathed in the clean air not tainted by Darien's knee-weakening scent and shook her head apologetically. "Darien, I… I can't." She couldn't risk being alone with him anymore. She couldn't risk him finding out about her and who she was.

Darien could see the change in her eyes. He knew how she felt, yet he couldn't stop himself from trying once more to get her to open her heart to him. When Lily would no longer look into his eyes, he sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry if I went too far. I just… I had to try." In the efforts of making the situation less-awkward he shrugged slightly and smiled at the woman in front of him. "Well, shall we go to lunch? My treat, as promised."

As much as Serena wanted to accept, she knew that she needed to put some distance between her and Darien for the moment. Especially since they were going to spend the evening together at Ken's; she needed to take a bit to collect herself again and build her resolve back up. "Darien, I don't think that's a good idea." Seeing the crest-fallen expression on his face, she quickly added "I mean, I have a lot of studying to do and then I have to do this thing with Mina before we get ready to go to Ken's. So, how about we take a rain check?"

Darien knew she was just saying that to ease the blow of her turning him down and as he watched her go about quickly getting ready to leave, he knew that if he remained silent and let her walk out of the room, she would close him out forever. Grasping at straws, he tried one last thing. "Can I at least drive you and Mina to Ken's tonight?"

Serena hesitantly looked up at him and immediately wished she hadn't. She saw the desperation in his eyes and sighed. She knew what he was doing by extending the invite to drive Mina as well and she had to admit that his tactic was working. So long as they weren't alone, there was no reason, as of yet, that she had to ignore Darien completely. To be honest, the idea of not seeing him again, at least intentionally, was already making her heart ache. Smiling slightly, she sighed and nodded. "Yeah, that would be great. Can you meet us at my place around 5?"

Darien let his shoulders relax as he sighed in relief. "Meet you at 5. Sounds perfect." He watched her for a moment before she smiled quickly and left the room. He sagged into a nearby chair and dropped his head into his hands. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been, knowing full-well how she felt about being in a relationship. As much as he wished he could take back his actions, he couldn't. All he could do now was try to gain her trust, and if that meant locking his feelings away and just be her friend, then so be it.

~*.*~

When Serena got back up to her apartment, she shut the door and leaned back against it. She couldn't get the pained look in Darien's eyes out of her mind. She knew that she was hurting them both, but it was the only way. If Darien only knew, he would understand. Even though Amara said it wouldn't be the end of the world if he knew, she couldn't bring herself to tell him. She couldn't bring Darien into her world. While Mina knew generally about her past, she knew none of the specific details. Darien, on the other hand, wouldn't be satisfied unless he knew everything, and the 'everything' he would want to know was locked behind a door that she wasn't ready to open just yet.

Serena smirked as she pushed herself away from the door and made her way across the room. Why was she even bothering to consider what Darien would do if he found out? She knew that it was only a matter of time before Chase found her and she was kidding herself if she thought her life as Liliana Avery would last long enough for her and Darien to have anything resembling a relationship. Chase would inevitably find her, like he always did, so it was foolish of her to even try. It would only end in everyone getting hurt. Besides, once Darien found out what a broken piece of trash she was, he wouldn't want anything to do with her.

She dropped down onto the couch and pulled one of her text books onto her lap. Even though Chase was on the other side of the country, it seemed he was still able to control her life one way or another.

~*.*~

A couple of hours later, Serena's studying was interrupted by her phone ringing. Picking up her phone, she wasn't surprised when she didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lily. This is Amara. I'm sending someone over to your apartment to administer the test we spoke about yesterday. Is there a good time for them to show up when both of you would be there?"

Serena smiled at the vagueness of Amara's conversation. It must be so annoying to be an agent dealing with the witness protection program. They had to change phones once every week in case anything had been tampered with and they could never give too many details out over the phone – always having to meet up in person to discuss anything of importance. "Yeah, we should both be here around 4. We're meeting up to go out to dinner."

"Alright, then. I'll have them be at your apartment at 4. Sorry I couldn't be there to do it myself, but we're kind of tied up here."

"Thanks, Amara. We'll be here! Good luck with everything."

After texting Mina to let her know when she needed to be at the apartment, Serena decided she had done enough studying, put her book down on the coffee table and laid down on the couch. She wondered who they would send. Whoever it was, Michelle and Amara must trust them a lot to give them Serena's address.

~*.*~

"Serena, are you sure we should do this?"

Understanding Mina's concern, Serena went to sit by her on the couch. "No matter what the results are, you're still my sister. Family comes in many different ways and blood is only one of them."

Mina nodded and sighed, glancing at her watch. "When is Darien going to be here?"

"Five. I know, we're cutting it really close." Darien usually arrived everywhere early so odds were he would be here some time around 4:45. Serena smirked slightly and after receiving a weird look from Mina, she elaborated. "I was just wondering what Darien thinks of the situation. I mean, here I am hanging out with 2 witness protection program agents, and he has at least a small idea about my past. I'm really surprised he hasn't come right out and asked me if I'm IN the program. For just one moment I wish I could know what he was thinking."

Mina grinned. "I don't know, from what I see in his eyes while he looks at you, if you were able to know what he was thinking it would probably make you blush."

Serena chuckled and nodded. Especially after this morning, she knew Mina was right. Darien had made it painfully obvious about his feelings for her and Serena had barely been able to contain her own. There were so many reasons why she couldn't tell Darien 'Yes'. Bringing him into her life, with Chase still at-large and everything still up-in-the-air, it wouldn't be fair to him. But mostly, and as hard as it was to admit this, although she felt safe in Darien's arms, until everything was resolved with Chase, she wouldn't ever be able to let her guard down and Darien deserved better than that.

"Earth to Serena. Where'd you go?"

As she was opening her mouth to answer Mina, there was a soft knock on the door. Standing up, she turned to Mina as she walked to the door. "I was just trying to imagine for a moment what a perfect life would be like." Standing up on her tippy-toes, Serena looked through the peep-hole. On the other side of her door, there was a very tall woman with dark hair that looked almost to have a deep green tinge to it in the hallway lights.

Opening the door, Serena smiled slightly at the woman and watched as she smiled back.

"Hi, I'm Trista. Are you Lily?"

Serena nodded and opened the door wider for the woman to enter and motioned to the girl sitting on the couch. "Hi Trista, this is Mina."

Trista glanced back and forth between the two girls. "Wow, I can definitely see why I was sent to do a DNA test." She set the kit she brought down on the dining table. "This won't take more than a few moments and Amara ordered a rush on the results, so we should know within a few days."

Serena and Mina hesitantly made their way into the dining room and leaned against the table. Serena watched as Trista took various supplies out and placed them on the table. "So, how long have you known Amara?"

Trista smiled at the girls. "Actually, I know both Michelle and Amara very well. The three of us became very close friends in the FBI and although field-work isn't normally my job, I don't ever mind flying in to help them out. Especially since there isn't really anyone else they can send that they can trust."

Serena didn't really know how much this woman knew about her, or what she had been through, but obviously Amara and Michelle had told her enough that she knew she could speak freely in front of Mina. "So, do you work in the Witness Protection Program or are you just doing this as a favor?"

Trista stood for a moment to consider the answer. "Both, I suppose… Although I don't work directly for the program, I am a medical doctor for the FBI and I'm kind of pulled every direction to help all different departments out." Changing the subject, she turned towards the girls. "Okay, which one would like to go first?"

Although Mina was the one that was doubtful earlier, she could now see the hesitation in Serena's eyes. Stepping forward, Mina offered herself first. "I'll go." Seeing the relief in her sister's eyes, Mina smiled.

Trista held up a utensil that resembled a long Q-tip. "Okay, open your mouth please." Once Mina complied, Trista quickly stuck the Q-tip in Mina's mouth and dragged it across the inside of her cheek. Putting it in a bag labeled 'M', she turned to Serena and did the same thing, putting that Q-tip in a bag labeled 'L'.

"Okay, now I would also like to get a blood sample from each of you. Although that isn't normal procedure for DNA testing, I would like to compare your blood types and a few others things." Although Trista didn't want to scare them, should anything happen to Serena, or Mina for that matter, if they were genetic matches it would make it easier to find a donor. Turning to Mina first, she motioned for her to hold her arm out and proceeded to tie a band above her elbow. "Okay, now squeeze your hand." Feeling for a vein, Trista quickly popped a needle in and before Mina knew what was happening, Trista was putting a cotton ball on her arm and taking the needle out.

Mina's eyes went wide. "Wow, I've never had blood drawn that fast. You're really good at this."

Trista smiled as she turned to repeat the process with Serena. "Well, thank you. I have been doing this for a few years now, so that helps."

Serena noticed that Trista reminded her a lot of Amy in the way she quietly observed her surroundings and only spoke after careful consideration of her words. For some reason though, with her omniscient gaze and the way Trista carried herself, Serena almost felt as if she were in the presence of what could only be described as an angel. She could definitely see why Michelle and Amara would be able to trust this woman.

"Alright, you're all set." Trista smiled at the girl in front of her as she put her equipment back in the bag. "You should be hearing from Amara or Michelle within a few days." She smiled at the two girls standing in front of her. "I hope the results are what you're expecting."

Serena and Mina glanced at each other and smiled slightly as they walked Trista to the door. "Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this."

Trista glanced back and smiled at the girls. "Well, Amara and Michelle told me a little bit about what has happened and it's more than any person should ever have to deal with in a lifetime, let alone by your age. You're so young and yet you've been through so much." She reached forward and squeezed Serena's shoulder gently. "I will gladly do anything I can to help you."

Although she had come here today pitying Serena, in the short time she had been there she had realized that Serena was making the most of what she could with the life she had and 'that' could never be pitied.

~*.*~

After Trista left, Serena and Mina quickly started preparing for the evening. They only had half-an-hour and with Mina in the equation they were going to need as much time as possible.

Although Mina wanted Serena to wear something a bit more revealing, Serena picked a baby blue layered t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Mina, on the other hand, still couldn't decide on whether or not she was going to wear a pink v-neck and jeans or a rather revealing dress. Serena guessed it was hard to take the model out of Mina, but sincerely hoped she settled on the v-neck.

When Darien came by to get them, Serena invited him in while they waited for Mina to finish getting ready. After offering him something to drink and inviting him to sit down, it was difficult to get any type of conversation started. Darien asked her how the rest of her day went and Serena inquired the same, but after that, the only thing Serena could think to say was, "Mina should be ready soon."

Mina, after having made the life-and-death decision, finally came out of the bedroom, having chosen the pink v-neck. As they neared Darien's car he sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, I forgot to take a couple boxes out of the back seat. Just push them over and I'll get them later." Serena was a little frustrated when Mina immediately went to the backseat to do as Darien asked, forcing Serena to sit in the front next to Darien.

In the efforts of starting up some form of a conversation, Darien asked Mina how her day went, knowing that Mina wouldn't fail him. She immediately leaned forward, poking her head between their seats, and regaled them with her day.

"Well, today was the first day that I really started working for my new boss. Oh my gosh! Darien, did I tell you that I was hired by the one and only Marco De'Viasser!" She waited impatiently for Darien's response and when all she got was silence she let out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh my goodness, he is like the God of the modeling industry! I cannot believe you haven't heard of him! What is it with you people!"

Darien glanced over at Lily, "I'm guessing she had pretty much the same response from you?"

Serena smiled briefly in his direction. "Yeah, pretty much." She hated not giving Darien the attention that she knew he wanted, and that she wanted to give him, but she just didn't want to encourage a relationship. Not right now, anyway. No matter how much it hurt to push him away.

Darien sighed and listened to the excited girl in the backseat talking about her photo shoot and the various people she was expecting to meet at the upcoming party. All he could think about was what he had done to ruin his friendship with Lily and if there was anything he could do to fix it.

When Darien pulled into the driveway, both girls peeked out the car windows at the elegant home. It wasn't a large place, but it looked extremely homey. The garden was beautifully maintained and the soft light coming from the open windows almost made it glow.

Having heard them pull in, Ken met them at the door and waved as they got out of the car. "Welcome! I'm so glad you all were able to make it!" Inviting them into his home, he smiled as he shut the door and guided them into the next room.

"Dinner is almost ready." He ushered them politely into the dining room to the left of the entry way. "Please, take a seat. Make yourselves at home. Sammy should be down shortly, he's just finishing up some homework. Is there anything I can get you guys to drink? I have water, juice, milk, Dr. Pepper and Pepsi."

Serena smiled as she and the others were directed into the dining room. "I would just like some water please, if that would be all right."

Ken smiled and squeezed Lily's shoulder gently. "Of course, of course." He glanced expectantly at Mina and Darien.

Darien nodded his head towards Lily. "Water would be wonderful for me as well, thank you."

Mina smiled as she pulled out a chair and sat down. "Water for me too, please."

Serena stood behind the chair next to Mina and smiled awkwardly at Darien before following Ken into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Ken smiled back at the young girl and nodded. "Oh, no, I'm okay. Thanks th-" but he stopped when he saw her shoulders sag slightly. "Well, if you would really like to help, there is filtered water in a jug in the fridge and the cups are in the cabinet on the left."

Serena smiled appreciatively as she made her way to the fridge. "Thank you again for inviting us over for dinner."

Stirring the sauce, Ken grinned over at her. "I'm just glad you all were able to make it. This house has been pretty quiet over the years and it's nice to have some company over for a change."

Placing the water jug back in the fridge, she picked up a few of the glasses and smiled at him. "Well, if that's the case, we'll have to play charades later. Mina's laugh will make you wish it were quiet again." Leaving Ken in the kitchen laughing, she made her way back to the dining room and placed the glasses of water on the table.

Mina smiled at her as she took a sip. "Do you guys need any help in there?"

Serena shook her head. "Nope, I think we're goo-"

She was interrupted as Sammy burst through the doorway. "Hey, guys! I'm glad you all were able to make it!" He ran over to Serena as if he was going to hug her, but stopped short and scratched the back of his head. "I was just finishing up some homework."

~*.*~

Dinner was good, but Serena could tell Ken had gone above his level-of-expertise in preparing this meal for them. She was touched by his effort but promised herself that if they got together like this again, she would come over here and help him.

With Mina's help, there was rarely a quiet moment during dinner. Ken seemed to be very interested in hearing her news, although Serena and Darien could both tell he was just as clueless as they had been about most of the things she was talking about. Letting Mina take the spotlight, Serena sat quietly eating her meal and enjoying her private thoughts. It startled her when Ken suddenly directed a question at her.

"Sorry, what was that?"

Ken smiled and repeated his question. "I just asked how school was going for you. What are your plans after you graduate?"

Serena sighed. "School's going great, I suppose. As far as what I want to do after I graduate, I really like helping people so I was hoping to get more involved with Psychology." _If I live that long…_ Serena added privately.

Ken nodded. "I think you'd do really well at that. Well just keep up the good work and I'm sure you can do whatever you put your mind to." Seeing Lily's brief smile made him sigh. Already, he loved the two girls in front of him as if they were his own daughters and he could tell something more was on her mind. He also knew that Lily wasn't the type of person that would burden others with her problems unless forced and since tonight was supposed to be a happy occasion, Ken let the matter rest and pushed his plate away as he stood, stretching his legs. "Well, shall we retire to the living room?"

Serena stood and gathered the dishes, despite Ken's protest, and brought them to the kitchen. Followed closely by Ken, he put the rest of the dishes down by the sink.

"You really don't have to do the dishes, you know."

Serena smiled over at him. "You made a wonderful meal for us; the least I could do is help with the dishes."

Ken smiled appreciatively and put the dishes Lily rinsed into the dishwasher. When they were done, he escorted her to the living room to join the others but the moment they turned the corner, Lily stopped short.

Gasping, Serena was drawn to the corner of the room. "You have a Bosendorfer piano!" She ran her hands intimately along the side of the piano, her breath quickening. This was almost the exact piano her mother had and it made her heart ache to see something so beautiful covered in a thin layer of dust.

Ken came up behind her and smiled sadly. "I'm impressed you know what kind of piano it is, do you play?"

Serena shrugged and gently pressed down on one of the keys, surprised at how the pleasure of hearing that one gorgeous note gave her goosebumps and flooded her with so many memories. "Only a little."

They were all startled when Sammy smirked from the couch. "A little? I heard you play the piano at the apartment, you're brilliant!"

Serena's cheeks flushed as Darien nodded his agreement and Ken looked at her and smiled. "Well, if you wouldn't mind, I would love to hear you play. If you feel comfortable doing so, that is… It's been a few years since it's been played, but I have it tuned regularly. Out of habit, I suppose." Ken sighed sadly. "My late wife was a beautiful pianist."

Serena smiled. "That's what Sammy told me. I would love to play something for you if you'd like. I can't guarantee it will be what you're used to hearing, but I'll do my best."

"Ah, nonsense. It will be good for this house to hear music again. Sammy was trying to learn how to play, but his mother was his teacher, you see, and I suppose it reminded him of her."

Serena noticed how both of them had a pained look in their eyes and sagged her shoulders, remembering Sammy's request a couple days before. "Well, sometimes it takes awhile to heal from such a tragedy." She made her way around so she was facing the piano and saw one piece of music sitting on the stand. Her heart caught in her throat and she was afraid she herself would start crying. There, sitting on an almost identical piano to the one she grew up with, was the last piece of music her mother had ever written. Tears welled up in Serena's eyes as she reached out to gently touch the closed sheet music. She was so engulfed in memories that she barely heard Ken's words.

"This was my wife's favorite piece." He sighed, unable to contain a silent tear from falling down his cheeks. "It was the last thing she played before…" his voice cut off and he left the sentence incomplete. A moment passed before Sammy appeared by his side. Ken, wrapping an arm tightly around his son, placed his cheek on Sammy's forehead. Keeping each other strong was all they knew how to do anymore.

Serena swallowed past the lump in her throat. "It's a beautiful song, I can see why she enjoyed it so much."

Ken's eyebrows raised. "You know it?"

Serena blinked the tears back and smiled at him. "You could say that."

As Darien and Mina finally joined them next to the piano, Ken was surprised that although her smile was filled with sadness, he saw a spark of distant happiness in her eyes.

Mina poked her head around Serena. "What's it called?"

Serena sighed. "'View from the Window'…" she turned to look Mina in the eyes. "By Abigail Thompson." Putting emphasis on the last name, she knew immediately that Mina understood. (A.N.: The song is actually by Yiruma, you can find it on Youtube. It's so pretty!)

At this point, Darien was completely lost. He understood why Ken and Sammy were crying, he could tell Lily was doing her best not to cry and suddenly Mina was having a hard time from crying as well. There was something he was definitely missing and he didn't even think his Topology teacher in college could have topped the confusion he was experiencing at the moment.

Ken motioned to the piano chair. "Do you think you could play it for us?"

Serena glanced across all the faces in the room and stopped at Sammy's, seeing the hope-laced sadness in his eyes. She finally looked back at Ken and simply nodded, unable to trust her own voice. Staring once again at the familiar piano, she barely noticed as everyone left her side to sit down. Pulling the chair out, she made herself comfortable and gently placed her fingers on the dusty keys. Serena closed her eyes, leaving the music unopened on the piano. If there's anything she knew like the back of her hand, it was every piece of music her mother had written.

It was a slow-starting piece, but once the music filled the room Serena found herself back in her old house with her mom sitting in the chair to the right of the piano. Although she had been unable to play anymore towards the end of her life, it hadn't stopped her from composing. The first time this piece was ever played, Serena sat at the piano while her mother stared out the window.

Darien couldn't take his eyes off of Lily's face. With her eyes closed, he didn't understand how she would be able to play Mary Had a Little Lamb let alone the beautiful piece she was now performing. But it was the occasional tear quietly streaming down her flushed cheeks and the subtle quivering of her lip that caught his attention the most. When the last note hung in the air, he watched as Lily opened her eyes and glanced to the right of the piano, a brief hint of confusion flashing across her face, before her shoulders sagged and she brushed her fingers across her cheeks to wipe away the tears.

For a brief moment, Serena was no longer in Ken's living room. For a brief moment, Serena had never met Chase. And for a brief moment, Serena's mom was still alive and sitting in the chair next to the piano. When Mina came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, Serena let her head fall onto it. The room was quiet for a few moments before Ken cleared his throat.

"Lily, that was… thank you."

Serena adjusted herself on the chair so that she was facing the others in the room and nodded. "You're welcome."

Sammy looked up at her, his face red from his tears, and sighed. "I wish I could play that."

Serena smiled at Sammy. "Well, I don't think I could do as good a job as your mom, but I would be happy to give you lessons if you'd like."

Immediately Sammy brightened and sat up straight. "Really? I would love that! Are you sure?"

Serena grinned. "Of course I'm sure. It will be good for me as well."

Without hesitating, Sammy leapt off the couch and flung himself into Serena's open arms. It surprised him, even though he wasn't a child anymore, how comforting Serena's embrace was and how much it reminded him of being in his mom's arms.

~*.*~

After a couple games of Clue, the evening came to a close and Ken escorted his guests out.

Pulling Lily into a hug, Ken rested his head on hers. "Thank you, Lily. It was a beautiful evening." He pulled out of the hug to extend one to Mina as well and then shook Darien's hand. "If you all would like, we can do dinner again next Sunday. Maybe we can even make this a routine."

"That's a great idea! Maybe next week I can bring Quelf." Mina looked around as everyone stared blankly at her. "Trust me, it's a fun board game I promise." Mina blinked at them. "I promise! You just wait and see."

The car ride home was relatively quiet and without more than a brief good night in the lobby, Mina and Serena were already heading up the stairs as Darien pressed the elevator button and stared after them.

~*.*~

The rest of the week was a busy time for the girls. Sitting at a booth in Crowns, they were currently in a deep and very serious conversation.

"Amy, the whole point of Halloween is to dress up as something that you wouldn't normally dress up as! If you go as a doctor, people will think you just got off work and were too lazy too change. That's like me dressing up as a hot, young, successful model! What's the fun in that when I do it every day?"

Amy crossed her arms while they others rolled their eyes and laughed. "Well, time constraints as they are, I don't really have many other options. Between work and school, there is very little time to prepare a costume."

Serena turned to Lita. "Have you decided what you want to be yet?"

Lita grinned. "Yep! But you will all have to wait and see!"

Mina pouted. "Lita, that's not fair!"

Rolling her eyes, Raye pulled a gorgeous red silk kimono. After receiving compliments from the girls she put it back in her bag. "My grandma was a priestess in Japan and this looks almost exactly like the dress she used to wear."

"Raye, you'll be a knock-out!" Mina sat back and pouted. "Why didn't I think of that?" She sighed. "I have no idea what I want to be."

Serena chimed in. "Well, a few years ago I made a hippie costume. It's not very hard. What do you think of that?" As Mina nodded happily, Serena turned to Amy. "If you would like, I could make a hippie costume for you as well. All I would need is an old pair of jeans that still fit and I can do the rest. I can even make one for Molly, too."

Amy's eyes brightened. "Oh yes, thank you Lily. That would be wonderful!"

Mina grinned and stuck her tongue out at Lita. "Our hippie costumes are going to rock your costume's socks off!" She had a very smug expression on her face until she paused for a moment and turned to Serena. "Hippies can have cleavage, right?"

~*.*~

While Lita and Amy had to get to their respective jobs, Raye had a couple hours to kill and walked across the street with Mina and Lily. As they were walking through the lobby of the apartment building, Raye stopped and suddenly walked to the counter where Ken was.

Ken smiled. "Hello! Raye, right?" At her nod he continued. "What may I help you with?"

"Well, I was actually just wondering if you had any vacant one bedrooms?"

Two squeals were suddenly heard from behind her.

"Raye, I didn't know you were looking for a place to live!"

"That would be so cool!"

Serena and Mina leaned on the counter next to Raye and looked at Ken with wide, hopeful eyes.

Ken laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry girls. Right now I don't have any available but here," he pushed a piece of paper and a pen towards Raye. "Give me your information and the moment one opens up I'll call you."

Once Raye wrote down her name and number, both Serena and Mina immediately looped their arms through hers.

"That would be way too cool if you were able to get a place here!"

Raye grinned in agreement. "Yeah, I want to live on my own but my dad is bound and determined that I won't live anywhere that doesn't meet his standards. This place is really nice and it helps that you guys live here too. I'm sure I'd be able to talk him into it if a room opens up!"

"Well, Lily and I can always just constantly bang on the walls of the person living between us and force them out! And we can keep ordering unpaid pizzas to their apartment and I can blast my mom's old opera music."

Serena cringed. "Mina, if you did that, 'I' would move out and create a vacancy that Raye could take just so you would stop."

~*.*~

For the next few days, outside of classes and hanging with her friends, Serena kept herself inside her apartment trying to put together four hippie costumes before Friday night's dance. Mina, Molly, Amy and herself had all gone to the fabric store and picked out what they wanted Serena to put into the legs of their pants and Serena got their measurements so that she could make them fringe vests. Although it was a lot of work, if there was one thing Serena loved to do it was sew.

As she was getting Molly's jeans situated on the sewing machine there was a loud and insistent knock on her door. Hesitantly, Serena made her way to the door and was momentarily relieved to find Mina on the other side. Her relief was washed away, however, when she saw Mina's face flushed with tears.

"Mina, what's wrong?"

Mina walked into Serena's apartment and wiped her cheeks. "I was supposed to meet Alan after class by the bench near the library but when I got there I saw him kissing another girl! And when I confronted him about it, he said 'A man has needs' and shrugged! As if that was the only thing he needed to say to excuse his behavior!"

Although Serena had a difficult time understanding some of what Mina said through her tears, she sighed and took Mina into her arms. "I'm so sorry, Mina. You deserve so much better than that."

Mina nodded against Serena's shoulder. "I know. I just thought people were wrong about him."

Serena guided her to a chair as she went to pour some tea. "When people have a reputation, good or bad, there's usually some truth to it." She smiled to herself as she repeated the exact same thing that Michelle had told her. Walking back to the living room, she handed Mina a cup of tea and sat down on the couch.

Mina smiled and motioned to the cup of tea. "I'm turning you British, apparently." She took a grateful sip of tea and swallowed slowly. "Did Chase have a bad reputation?"

Serena paused thoughtfully before shaking her head. "No. He was too new to town and put on a façade. Even my parents loved him. However, once I got to know him a little better I started finding out more and more about him but none of the new information matched the Chase that I knew so I ignored it. Looking back I could see so many red flags but what are you going to do? 20/20 hindsight. All you _can_ do is make sure you don't repeat the same mistakes in the future."

Mina sighed. "I know. I just wish I had listened to you guys. I was so stupid."

"That doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you know he's an asshole and you have a lot of friends that support your decision and are here for you."

Mina nodded and shook her head as she wiped her cheeks again. "I'm sorry, I know I must look like a baby to you. After everything that's happened to you, this is nothing and here I am acting like it's the end of the world."

Serena sighed and set her cup of tea on the coffee table and put a hand on Mina's arm. "This is happening to _you_. This is unfamiliar to _you_. This is hurting _you._ And if it's hurting _you_, then it is a very big deal. Don't compare the two."

Mina smiled. "Thanks, Sis."

Serena grinned thinking of a way to cheer her up. "I finished your costume; do you want to see it?"

It worked perfectly. Mina's eyes got wide with excitement. "Yeah! Gotta make sure I look cute now that I'm single!"

~*.*~

When Lily didn't show up to self-defense class Tuesday evening, Darien's heart sank. Obviously he had moved too fast but every opportunity he had to try and make it better she always made up some excuse to leave or apparently didn't even make an appearance. After the class, he pulled Lita aside.

"Lita, where's Lily?"

Lita shifted uncomfortably and brushed some loose hair behind her ears. "She wasn't feeling well."

Darien sighed. It didn't take a federally-trained agent to figure out that Lita was lying and that only made him more frustrated. Trying to get information out of Lita didn't work either. All she said was that Lily needed space and for him to be patient. His patience, however, was wearing thin. He would give her a couple more days but if she was still ignoring him, he would just seek her out instead.

~*.*~

When Serena and Mina got to dance class the next day, they knew that they would have to deal with Alan but what they weren't expecting was for him to come up and ask Mina for the first dance.

Mina blinked at him for a moment before she felt a squeeze of support from Serena and shook her head. "What part of me walking away from you didn't you understand?"

Alan shrugged. "You were over-reacting. I didn't think much of it."

"Over-reacting? Alan, you were making out with another girl! I knew I deserved better than you and what you did gave me the excuse I needed. I'm done. Leave me alone."

The look on Alan's face made it obvious that he was not happy with what Mina had said but before he could voice his feelings, Serena spoke up.

"Alan, you heard what she said. If you don't stay away from her you won't just have one angry girl on your hands. You'll have six." With that, she and Mina walked away.

Alan clenched his jaw as he watched them leave. The only reason he dated Mina in the first place was to get closer to Lily but no woman could get away with talking to him like that, let alone threatening him.

Towards the end of dance class, Mina was finally lined up to dance with Alan and Serena quickly switched with Mina so that it would be her that danced with him instead. As they got into dance position, Serena sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

Alan smirked. "Do you really think that Mina can stay away from me? She has a spine now, but what about tomorrow? Eventually she'll come crawling back begging for my forgiveness."

Serena turned her head towards him and hissed under her breath. "If you ever come near Mina, you will be answering to five very pissed off girls, one of which would send you to the hospital without blinking. So I would be _very_ careful if I were you." She felt his muscles tense and once the music stopped she broke free of his hold, not looking back to see the glare that he was giving her. If she had seen the look in his eyes, she would have been concerned for more than just Mina.

~*.*~

Thursday after a long day of work, Darien walked into the lobby of the apartment building. Having seen the ambulance outside, Darien wasn't surprised to see a paramedic standing by the elevator. He made is way over to Ken and Sammy. "Hey, what's going on?"

Ken turned to Darien and shook his head. "It's terrible. Mr. Fletcher on the 4th floor had a heart attack. They're not sure he's going to make it."

One of the paramedics had a few papers for Ken to sign so Darien stepped out of his way and, seeing as how the elevator was soon to be occupied as they took Mr. Fletcher to the hospital, he headed for the stairs. As he made his way up towards his floor, he hesitated and stared at the door that exited out onto the 3rd floor. It only took a moment for him to come to a decision.

~*.*~

When she opened the door, Serena had been sure that it would be Amy coming over to try on her costume and was surprised that she found herself face-to-face with Darien.

"Lily, can we talk?"

Hearing those fateful words, and realizing she had nowhere to go, Lily sighed and backed away from the door, granting him entrance into her apartment. Trying desperately to pretend that nothing was wrong, she smiled. "What did you want to talk about?"

Darien sent her an odd look as if to say that it was obvious. "What's going on? It seems as if you've been ignoring me on purpose and I'd just like to know why."

Serena's shoulders sagged. Why did he have to ask her so bluntly? There was no way she could dance around a response to that question. "Darien… I'm just confused, that's all."

"Confused? Confused about what?"

Sighing, she shrugged. "I told you before that I have a lot going on in my life that I need to focus on, a lot you don't know about, and being around you… It's just bringing someone else into my life right now isn't a very good idea, that's all."

Darien stared at the petite girl in front of him. She was a puzzle to him. A puzzle he had a few of the pieces to but no idea where they went. She didn't like talking about her past, even the seemingly good parts. What could have happened to this beautiful girl to make her like this and why couldn't she tell him? Taking a step towards her he voiced his question. "Why can't you tell me? Lily, you know that you can trust me."

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over, as she gave him a pleading look. _ I can't let you love me. _"Darien, please…"

His heart was breaking at seeing her like this. When he took another step towards her, she looked away. When he saw a fateful tear slide down her cheek his breaking heart was replaced with rage. He gathered, based on previous events that someone in her past had made her like this. Made her push people away. The sudden overwhelming urge to protect her almost made him dizzy as he closed to gap between them and slowly raised a hand to gently brush away the lone tear at her chin.

Feeling the warmth of his hand on her skin sent shivers down her spine. Her breathing quickened as he used his thumb to wipe away another rogue tear. Desperately she tried to hold onto the fleeting excuses that allowed her to keep pushing him away. She felt him cup her chin and guide it up so he could see her face. Refusing to meet his gaze, she closed her eyes quickly.

"Lily, look at me."

After taking a few shaky breaths, she gave in to the gentle command. The moment her eyes locked with his, however, one excuse came crashing back on top of her like a wave threatening to drown her. Seeing the concern for her in his eyes, the fact that it wouldn't be fair to him felt like a thousand-pound weight on her shoulders. Every fiber of her being wanted to give in but she couldn't. No matter how much she wanted this, he deserved so much more than the scraps that were left of her.

When Darien saw the resolve still holding firmly in her eyes, he sighed. Noticing the slight tremble of her bottom lip Darien pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her protectively. He knew she was trying to be strong and if that's what she needed to do cope with whatever was going on, then he was going to help her and be there for her in whatever way he could. In whatever way she would let him.

After Lily's crying had ceased, he just stood there holding her tightly and enjoying the feel of her in his arms. When she finally raised her head and looked up at him he had to resist the sudden urge to kiss her flushed lips. Instead he brought his hand up and brushed some of the hair away that clung to her drying cheeks. As she opened her mouth to say something they were interrupted by a gentle knock on her door.

Lily sighed and regretfully backed out of Darien's warm embrace. She suddenly felt so exposed and vulnerable and she rubbed her hands against her arms in the efforts of calming the lonely chill. "That will be Amy." At another knock, Serena wiped her cheeks and took a few deep breaths before opening the door and plastering a smile on her face. "Hey, Ames."

Amy, always an astute observer, felt the odd energy in the room. Her eyes saw Lily's tear-stained face, glanced over to Darien and finally fell on the wet fabric of Darien's shirt. "Is everything okay? Do you want me to come over another time…?"

Lily shook her head and smiled. "No, no. You're fine." She turned to Darien. "Amy is just here to try on her costume for the dance tomorrow."

Darien forced a smile, wishing he had been able to hear what Lily had been about to say before Amy knocked. "What are you all going as?"

Amy grinned. "Well, Lily made a few of us awesome hippie costume!"

Serena smiled. "Amy, you haven't even seen it yet."

Amy shrugged, her light-hearted laugh brining ease back into the room. "I heard Mina and Molly talking about their costumes. If Mina is happy with it, I know I will be!"

Even Darien chuckled at Amy's statement. It wasn't a secret how much of a perfectionist Mina was when it came to her clothes.

Amy glanced between the two of them. "So, Darien, will you be going to the dance?"

Nodding, he sighed. "I have been asked to chaperone."

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to dress up?" She suddenly pictured Darien in a wide variety of costumes. When her mind somehow fell on an image of Darien wearing a tuxedo, top hat and a cape, while dashingly swinging around a cane and a bouquet of roses, she shook her head briefly. She was pretty sure that Hell would freeze over before he would subject himself to that kind of attire; even on Halloween.

Darien raised an eyebrow at Lily's expression before shaking his head. "I haven't decided."

Amy grinned. "Well, I'm sure Lily could put together a hippie costume for you, too!"

Darien's face contorted in fake pain as Lily and Amy laughed at his expense. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll figure something out." He smiled when he saw the distant glow back in Lily's eyes. "Well, I should leave you two girls to it." Heading for the door, he glanced back and stared at Lily for a moment. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

When Darien disappeared and shut the door, all Serena wanted to do was chase after him, her heart aching with the need to be in his arms again. With great effort, Serena tore her eyes from the door and smiled at Amy. "Shall we?"

Amy followed her friend to the living room. She was never one to pry in the personal affairs of others, nor would she start now, but she was definitely curious as to what had transpired between Lily and Darien. When her eyes fell on her costume however, everything else ceased to exist in her mind. Amy grinned and, going against everything she stood for, she squealed in excitement.

~*.*~

The girls had planned to meet at Crowns and head over together in Raye's SUV. Molly, Amy, and Mina all met over at Lily's so that they could put their costumes on and make any last-minute adjustments. When they finally arrived at the restaurant they searched around and quickly found Raye. When they got closer, however, they realized that Raye, dressed up as a delicate Priestess, was talking to a pirate and not just any pirate.

"Lita?"

Grinning, Lita raised her fake sword at them. "Arrrrrrgh! My purdy colorful little captives will fetch a fair price at the market! Arrrrgh!"

All of the girls giggled and turned to Raye. Startled, they suddenly felt like they were in the presence of royalty. With the fine red silk surrounding Raye's gorgeous figure and her hair pinned up with jeweled sticks, they were speechless.

Serena was the first to speak. "Raye, you're breathtaking!"

Raye grinned. "Thank you! And I must say, Lily, you did an excellent job on these costumes!" Raye and Lita both took a few moments to admire each of them.

Serena had settled on pink cloth to turn her jeans into bellbottoms and had adorned her headband and fringe vest with complementing beads and feathers. Mina went with orange, Amy with blue and Molly decided on purple. Combined, as Lita had previously stated, they were a very colorful bunch of girls.

Mina grinned. "Now that we've discovered how awesome we all look, let's get to the party and do some dancing! I wanna get my groove on!" As Mina broke into a 5 second disco dance and headed for the door, the other girls looked at each other.

Amy tilted her head to the side and cringed. "Should we tell her that she's off by a couple decades?"

Lily was just shaking her head as Molly laughed. Raye patted Amy on the shoulder. "Just let it go, girl. Just let it go."

Lita nudged the girls with the hilt of her plastic sword. "Arrrrgh! Off to the party with 'ye!"

~*.*~

When they arrived at the party, it was already packed with other students. As expected, the majority of the heads turned their direction when they entered the room. Mina, of course, was in her element but all the other girls still hadn't gotten used to the attention.

When everyone had learned of Mina's breakup, they were sure that Mina would walk around sulking for a few days and were surprised that Mina remained her usual perky self. They knew, of course, that it was just an act. Mina was trying to get through the situation the best that she could and the girls, especially Serena, couldn't fault her for that.

After a few moments, Darien finally spotted them. He had been trying to make his walk around the room look as target-free as possible, but when he saw her his breath caught. With her long silk blond hair hanging down, kept back only by the band around her forehead, she was, hands-down, the most gorgeous woman in the room. Making his way over to them he had to force himself to remember how to breathe. "Hello, ladies!"

Lita lunged forward suddenly with her sword. "Arrrrrgh! They be mine!"

Darien glanced down at the sword inches in front of his face and, with the gentle light from the dance floor, he could clearly see the label 'Made in China' and grinned, patting his holster that held his water pistol that had been made to look like a real gun. "I think I would win. Don't worry, they'll still be worthy to sell when I'm done."

Lita grinned at the fact that he would even bother playing along.

Serena raised an eyebrow. "So this is what you decided to be, huh, Darien?" She watched as he looked down at his FBI attire and shrugged. "Very original." Truth be told, she wished he had shown up wearing a costume with a ridiculously tall top hat. Maybe then she would be able to ignore how damn fine the man looked in a black suit.

They stayed in a little group and talked for a few more minutes before a slow song came on. Darien extended his arm to Lily and smiled at her. "Care to dance?"

Serena's breathing quickened as she took his hand and he led her out onto the dance floor. Thankfully, Darien decided to sway to the song rather than Waltz to it, probably a good choice given the number of couples on the dance floor. This also gave Serena an out for looking at him. Instead, she simply rested her head on his shoulder as she allowed her weight to mindlessly transition from one foot to another.

After a moment, Darien broke the pleasant silence and motioned over to her friends. "I can't help but notice that your entire group seems to be on alert. What's going on?"

Serena reluctantly picked her head up and looked in the direction he indicated with his eyes. Although all of the girls were dancing, their eyes were looking around the room instead of at their partners. Serena sighed. "Mina broke up with Alan and he wasn't too pleased about it. So we're just kind of watching out for her so that she can have a good time tonight."

Darien nodded. "I see. Well, I haven't seen him yet. With the look on Lita's face, for his sake I hope he doesn't show up tonight."

Serena smirked. "Is it bad that I kind of hope he does?" It would be classic if Alan were laid out by a girl in front of the entire student body. He would definitely deserve what he had coming to him.

Darien chuckled and was sad when the song came to an end. Escorting Lily back over to her group, he excused himself using the reason that he was here to be a chaperone.

When he was finally out of earshot, Serena felt her cheeks flush under the scrutinizing eyes of her friends. "What?"

"Oh, please, don't give us that! We saw how you two were looking at each other!"

Serena shrugged and did her best to remain calm. More than anything, she wanted to share the feelings and experiences she was having with her friends but, when it could never be, why bother? "We're just friends." As the girls were about to pry her for more information she was almost relieved to have a diversion. Almost. Motioning with her chin, the other girls glanced over at the door.

Alan had just walked in with a goofy grin on his face and a dark look in his eyes. Immediately, Serena saw Mina tense and she went out to grasp her sister's hand. "It'll be okay."

Mina nodded and they were suddenly interrupted when a couple men came to ask them to dance. Lita and Serena held back so that they would ask the others to dance first.

"If he tries anything, he'll have through us first."

Serena nodded to Lita's statement as she watched Alan make his way across the dance floor. His behavior, even for him, was rather odd. He wasn't nearly as graceful as he normally was but she didn't think much of that. All she cared about was that he stayed away from Mina.

~*.*~

After an hour, Alan still hadn't come within five feet of Mina. All but Lita and Serena dropped their guard. Even Mina assumed that Alan wasn't going to do anything. Serena knew that she was probably just being paranoid because of her experience with Chase, but she simply couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

With all the other girls dancing, Mina and Serena took a much needed break at their table. Taking the last sip of her water, Mina stretched as she stood. "Man, way too much dancing. Wait, did I just say that?" They laughed, but the moment Mina turned away from the table, Serena stood up. "Lily, I'll be fine. I'm just going to the bathroom. You don't have to follow me everywhere. Besides," she said, motioning with her head towards the dance floor, "I'm pretty sure he's gotten over it."

Serena followed her gaze to see Alan practically grinding another girl. She nodded and smiled over at her sister. "You're probably right. Just be careful, okay?"

Mina smiled and rolled her eyes as she made her way out into the hallway. Serena took another slow sip of her water as she went back to observing the room. Across the large dance floor she could see Darien watching her and felt her cheeks flush. Doing her best to pretend that she hadn't noticed his stare, she absently smiled at a girl leaving the dance floor. Her smile vanished, however, when she realized that the girl she just smiled at was the girl that Alan had been dancing with. Serena stood up quickly. When she couldn't locate Alan after a brief scan of the room, she rushed out into the hallway to find Mina.

When Serena rounded the corner, she stopped when she saw Alan talking to Mina and caught the end of his sentence.

"-worthless! I'm glad you broke up with me when you did because I wouldn't have been able to take your crap much longer!"

When Mina went to wipe her eyes he grabbed her wrist. "Hey!" Serena found herself stalking towards them, not believing that Alan would dare touch her sister. She watched as Mina stumbled back when he forcefully released her. Her eyes narrowed as she collected Mina behind her.

Alan smirked. "Ooooh… Have you come to scold me?"

Serena frowned when she caught the stench of his breath. "You're drunk!" She remembered what Darien had told her: 'You can never reason with a drunk man.' She backed away slowly with Mina behind her. "You know what, Alan, just forget it. We're going to go back to the dance." She didn't even want to threaten him again. All she wanted to do was to get back safely inside.

After a moment, she turned thinking that there was a safe enough distance to retreat. Before she could get far, Alan closed the gap and roughly grabbed her wrist, yanking her back around to face him.

It all happened so quickly. She saw Mina disappear back into the dance hall and Alan was shouting something about how it was her that he always wanted. She didn't even realize what was going on, but without thinking, Serena was using the momentum of him turning her and his strong grip on her wrist to pull him towards her as she brought the elbow of her other arm towards his face.

~*.*~

Darien's guard went up when he saw Lily leave the room so quickly. Seeing the concerned look on her face, he made his way around the dance floor. It was probably nothing, but it did give him an excuse to talk to her and that alone was worth the trip.

When he was about to talk out into the hallway, however, he was stopped short when Mina came crashing into his chest. Holding her at an arms length, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Mina, what's wrong?"

Mina was so relieved to have run into one of the two people that she knew could help. Managing to get out only three words through her sobs, she knew it would convey to him the problem. "Alan… Hallway… Lily."

That was all he needed to hear. Mina's raised voice had attracted a lot of attention and Darien was followed out into the hallway by a few of the people that had been nearby, which in turn brought even more people. When he stepped around the corner, he saw Alan grabbing his face.

"You bitch! You broke my nose!" Completely oblivious to his audience, his only thought was to pay Lily back for what she had done.

While it felt like an eternity as Darien tried to close the gap between him and Lily, it only took a couple of seconds for Alan to recover. Darien watched in horror as Alan reached up and pushed Lily forcefully into the wall behind her.

Serena gasped when the air suddenly escaped her lungs from the impact and her head whipped back, colliding with the plastered wall. If it hadn't been for Alan's strong hands suddenly gripping her arms, the sudden wave of dizziness that hit her would have forced her to the ground. Distantly she heard someone yell, 'Hey!' The sudden interruption caused Alan to take a step back from her and look in the direction of the voice.

Regaining her senses, Serena took advantage of the gap. Wrapping her hands around his shoulders, she pulled him towards her and smirked when her raised knee met his groin. As Alan collapsed on the floor in front of her, moaning in pain, Serena's knees gave out. Bracing herself she was surprised when she suddenly found herself in Darien's strong arms. She had no idea how he had gotten to her side but the pounding in her head stopped her from caring. Glancing around, she saw that she was surrounded by the girls and the majority of the people that had been at the party.

Darien, seeing another faculty member, motioned to Alan. "Watch him and call the police." He was vaguely aware that he was being pushed away from Lily by Amy and gently released Lily into her care. Through his rage, he barely heard the questions Amy asked Lily as she checked her over for injuries.

Alan groaned and forced himself to sit up. "Yeah, call the cops! That bitch broke my nose!"

Darien suddenly turned on Alan, wanting very much to make him pay for daring to call Lily a 'bitch' and for what he had done to her earlier. Before he could take more than one step Lita stopped him.

"Darien, calm down. It's over." She gave a disgusted glance towards the man on the floor. "He's just trying to save as much of his manhood as possible."

The campus police arrived only moments before the city police. After taking everyone's story about the incident, the police, having had previous minor complaints against Alan, had no trouble believing that he had started it. It didn't help Alan's case that he was intoxicated on campus either.

Darien watched as the officers cuffed Alan and led him out of the building. Turning back to the girls, he saw them comforting Mina, but his body tensed when he didn't see Lily's face. He looked questioningly to Amy.

Amy knew exactly what he wanted from her. She shook her head. "After I made sure she was okay and she gave her statement to the police she excused herself, against our wishes, and left through those doors."

Without another word, Darien walked through the doors and outside into the fresh night air knowing that she couldn't be that far ahead of him. Walking at a brisk pace, he realized that his feet were leading him to the beautiful willow tree that she had sought refuge under earlier in the semester. Somehow he knew that was where she would be. When he got closer and heard the soft crying, he knew that he had been right.

He crawled in and sat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder to help comfort her. He knew she must be so scared and hurt and his heart ached to see her pain. When she lifted her head, however, he saw a smile through her tears. Caught off guard, he asked the only question that came to mind. "Are you okay?"

It took her a moment to answer, but she finally nodded. "Darien, for the first time I feel like I'm a person that has a reason to live again." Wiping her cheeks she laughed at the sudden carefree feeling that she hadn't been able to truly experience in a long time. "Thank you for helping me realize that I'm worthwhile."

Darien grinned, not exactly understanding her cryptic words, but rejoicing in the bubbly smile on her face. He noticed her absentmindedly rubbing her wrist. He gently took her hand in his own and saw the red marks that Alan's hand had left. Cursing under his breath, he looked into her eyes. "I only saw the end of it, but I must say that I am extremely proud of you for how you handled him."

Serena grinned. "I couldn't have done it without you. You taught me exactly what to do in that situation and I'm so thankful to you, Darien. You have no idea how freeing it is to finally stand up for myself."

"I'm just so sorry you were hurt. I wish I had gotten there sooner."

Darien's thumb was making slow, tantalizing circles across the knots forming on her wrist rendering Serena speechless. Pain completely forgotten, even the pounding in her head, she watched as Darien raised her wrist to his lips and kissed it.

She couldn't believe she had been such an idiot. She finally realized that she wasn't weak. She wasn't a toy. Chase had already taken too much away from her and she would be damned if she let him do it again. Darien's lips burned against her skin as Serena's breathing quickened. Her lips parted as their eyes met.

Darien reached a hand up to cup her cheek and felt her sag into his touch. Staring at each other for a moment, he leaned forward slowly, waiting for her to give any hints that she would pull away. When she didn't, he quickly closed the distance.

As his lips brushed across hers, she shivered with excitement. No longer able to resist; No longer wanting to. She wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to him, deepening the kiss. With her action, Darien's doubt fled as his arms possessively slipped around her, reveling at the feel of her soft curves melting against him.

There was no way that Serena would start a relationship without first telling Darien everything about her past, but that could be saved for tomorrow. For now, she was content to be in Darien's arms. For now, nothing else mattered. Locked in a heated embrace, reality seemed to simply fade away.

* * *

_And for those of you who have been waiting for this moment for 16 chapters, here you go! :)_

_Hope it was worth the wait!_

_Again, please review! Can't wait to hear what you all thought of the new chapter!_


	17. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

_I can't apologize enough with how long it's taken me to post the next chapter. All of the messages from you asking me to finish the story have really meant a lot to me, but I wanted to explain my absence and hopefully it will help you all be patient with me for a little bit longer while I get the next chapter out to you._

_My friend of 14 years and biggest supporter of this story and of my writing passed away in January and every time I sit down to write the next chapter it makes me think of her and I start crying. I miss her a lot and I know she would want me to finish it. _

_So just know that I **will** finish the story, and the next chapter is already halfway done. It's just going to take me some time. _

_**R.I.P. Kay**_

_I miss you._


End file.
